When imitation becomes rampant, like in the art market and now society as a whole through social media, it…

When imitation becomes rampant, like in the art market and now society as a whole through social media, it generates a powerful desire for 'authenticity'. Grok did a summary for me. However, this isn't quite what it seems. 1/5 https://t.co/XoV9pkyyCK

As McLuhan once said, it's imitation that produces the entire concept of an 'original'. Without a copy, there is not even such a thing as an original. This more authentic art work or life, which people will pay millions for, is itself an artefact of imitative culture. 2/5

It's not some natural baseline covered over by all of the imitative rivalry. The imitative rivalry *produces* it. The tidal wave of minutiae of peoples' supposedly personal lives and feelings is confected, performative rubbish. 3/5

It's just more curation, more imitation, more status games. We saw this in the 1970s, in the back to nature and self-sufficiency movements. Isn't the concept of 'natural' getting a workout now? People imitating some loon idea of a more authentic and natural reality. 4/5

Imitation is human life. Driven by status. That's the key that unlocks everything, if you look. /end