The author states we are copycats, agree or disagree?

[cookiedough]

It makes sense in a way. Society has a set of standards most people abide by and avoid what doesn't work. It's a survival mechanism and it's not bad. However, being unique has its perks. Everyone is different and should be proud of what each individual can bring to the table.

[Nicholus Schroeder]

I have to agree that the majority of people are copycats, once they see one person do something or behave in a certain way they get a compelling desire to do what they have just witnessed. I've seen countless people splurge out a couple of thousands on shoes they rarely wear only because "they were in fashion or so and so wore them" how people justify such is beyond me.

Yuck. I had not even thought about that kind of copycat. I was thinking along the lines of smaller things, but you are right. I am not the type to care about clothes/shoes/make-up, so that was not where I was thinking with copycat dreams. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

That's why I had to share my opinion on the matter because I wanted people to think about this question and offer their opinion from their perspective of the world and not from the author's perspective (justifying his ideals or not with his own words) as I felt that would make for more interesting and varied responses to to topic.

[Ahbed Nadir]

I somewhat agree with the author. In a situation where one is struggling to succeed and then he observes someone else succeeding at a different path, it would entice him to abandon his own path to follow the other person's path. Success attracts copycats, its a simple fact of nature so yes, I would agree with the author.

[Ahbed Nadir]

This is a bit of a tough one. I think the claim holds true for a portion of our lives, and may reemerge for some of us. More specifically, I think that we copycat ambition when we're trying to learn what success and its pursuit look like for ourselves. Copying is a large part of how we learn as children, and it peters out at a different pace for each of us. Some of us have an on-again-off-again relationship with it as we fight with confidence and passion well into our adulthoods, while others of us beat our own drums from a very young age. I believe distraction is most likely to come in if we're having tough times with our own things (whether for the reasons I already stated or because what we're doing is plain difficult) and want to escape that immediate difficulty.

I agree with this completely. A lot of people lack the confidence to believe in themselves and their dreams and as such when they see someone else succeeding at a different career, it would cause one to doubt oneself and thus lead to copying the successful person's life in an attempt to duplicate the success seen in his/her life.

[Ahbed Nadir]

I have to agree that the majority of people are copycats, once they see one person do something or behave in a certain way they get a compelling desire to do what they have just witnessed. I've seen countless people splurge out a couple of thousands on shoes they rarely wear only because "they were in fashion or so and so wore them" how people justify such is beyond me.

It could be seen as copycat behavior, yes, however what is fashion other than what multiple people find attractive. General opinion in terms of what's fashionable or trendy usually sets the standard for these things so I would say its just following the social norm and not really being a copycat.

[Lila Ilak]

I agree, but I think that it is inevitable since we grow up learning by copying what we see around us. We're all products of our environments.

[cd20]

I do not completely agree that we are copycats. I do believe we incorporate strategies/action we see from others that gave proven to work. However, we can't truly copy because we bring our unique abilities and personality to everything.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I see your point. I think to some degree we are copycats, especially as children, but as we grow and mature into our own person, we bring our unique abilities and personality to everything. I think that is what keeps things interesting too, the sharing of those unique abilities.

[cd20]

I have to agree that the majority of people are copycats, once they see one person do something or behave in a certain way they get a compelling desire to do what they have just witnessed. I've seen countless people splurge out a couple of thousands on shoes they rarely wear only because "they were in fashion or so and so wore them" how people justify such is beyond me.

Yuck. I had not even thought about that kind of copycat. I was thinking along the lines of smaller things, but you are right. I am not the type to care about clothes/shoes/make-up, so that was not where I was thinking with copycat dreams. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

That's why I had to share my opinion on the matter because I wanted people to think about this question and offer their opinion from their perspective of the world and not from the author's perspective (justifying his ideals or not with his own words) as I felt that would make for more interesting and varied responses to to topic.

You are correct, it does add to the conversation and I appreciate you weighing in. I think so often we weigh in without considering all the angles. It also depends on the person as to the point they will go to copy someone else. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.

[cd20]

I somewhat agree with the author. In a situation where one is struggling to succeed and then he observes someone else succeeding at a different path, it would entice him to abandon his own path to follow the other person's path. Success attracts copycats, its a simple fact of nature so yes, I would agree with the author.

I can see how if someone is struggling to succeed and then observes someone else's success they would veer off their path and copy someone else's. However, I would like to think they would add their own flair and passion to it as well. I guess it would be better to say that we are copycats in some areas and not others. Different things are going to appeal to different people as to what they will copy. Thank you for sharing your opinions.

[cd20]

I agree, but I think that it is inevitable since we grow up learning by copying what we see around us. We're all products of our environments.

I agree with this to an extent. We do grow up learning by copying what we see around us, and we are products of our environment. However, we also have the ability to change that. I have spent a lot of time becoming more than a product of my environment. If I had wanted to be like my parents I would never have graduated high school, gone to college, or moved away from my family. I wanted and needed to be different. They shaped me, but I have also shaped myself if that makes sense? Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[Rochelle457]

People definitely do copy their behavior from other people and we do try to mold our life to something or someone. I feel like we copy some aspects from people all around us and end up with a totally unique set of aspects that make up our personality.

[Nicholus Schroeder]

I have to agree that the majority of people are copycats, once they see one person do something or behave in a certain way they get a compelling desire to do what they have just witnessed. I've seen countless people splurge out a couple of thousands on shoes they rarely wear only because "they were in fashion or so and so wore them" how people justify such is beyond me.

It could be seen as copycat behavior, yes, however what is fashion other than what multiple people find attractive. General opinion in terms of what's fashionable or trendy usually sets the standard for these things so I would say its just following the social norm and not really being a copycat.

I agree that to a certain extent its normal and just not copycat behaviour in some instances. Say for example I notice my neighbor driving a Porsche and I decide to buy myself one because I liked the car and wanted one. That isn't being a copycat, that was a purely rational decision, I saw something I liked so I worked towards getting it. However, most people sadly fall prey to the plague known as herd behaviour and end up just copying what they see.

To drive home the message let's say Cristiano Ronaldo posted a picture of himself wearing shorts over jeans on Instagram. That would make for an absurd look yet there are people from his 250M followers who would do the same. As time passes more and more people would do the same because of herd behaviour. There'd just keep copying what the collect does (herd). Somethings can be labeled under observation but most things are simply copycat behaviour.

[Ahbed Nadir]

I somewhat agree with the author. In a situation where one is struggling to succeed and then he observes someone else succeeding at a different path, it would entice him to abandon his own path to follow the other person's path. Success attracts copycats, its a simple fact of nature so yes, I would agree with the author.

I can see how if someone is struggling to succeed and then observes someone else's success they would veer off their path and copy someone else's. However, I would like to think they would add their own flair and passion to it as well. I guess it would be better to say that we are copycats in some areas and not others. Different things are going to appeal to different people as to what they will copy. Thank you for sharing your opinions.

Yes, I would agree with you. All people are different so even in an instance of "copying" there will still be a certain individualism that would shine through in the person's work. So it would still have the person's original touch or flair added to it.

[Ahbed Nadir]

I have to agree that the majority of people are copycats, once they see one person do something or behave in a certain way they get a compelling desire to do what they have just witnessed. I've seen countless people splurge out a couple of thousands on shoes they rarely wear only because "they were in fashion or so and so wore them" how people justify such is beyond me.

It could be seen as copycat behavior, yes, however what is fashion other than what multiple people find attractive. General opinion in terms of what's fashionable or trendy usually sets the standard for these things so I would say its just following the social norm and not really being a copycat.

I agree that to a certain extent its normal and just not copycat behaviour in some instances. Say for example I notice my neighbor driving a Porsche and I decide to buy myself one because I liked the car and wanted one. That isn't being a copycat, that was a purely rational decision, I saw something I liked so I worked towards getting it. However, most people sadly fall prey to the plague known as herd behaviour and end up just copying what they see.

To drive home the message let's say Cristiano Ronaldo posted a picture of himself wearing shorts over jeans on Instagram. That would make for an absurd look yet there are people from his 250M followers who would do the same. As time passes more and more people would do the same because of herd behaviour. There'd just keep copying what the collect does (herd). Somethings can be labeled under observation but most things are simply copycat behaviour.

I never thought about it like that. Yes, indeed there are some super fans or simply people who idolize certain people and as such would simply copy whatever they do no matter how absurd it really is. Herd behavior is quite simply a plague nowadays, pure copying of an original idea. Great take on this!

[Ahbed Nadir]

I also had a problem wrapping my head around that assertion. However, his argument about trying to replicate what successful people do makes a lot of sense. I don't know if I completely agree that we are copycats, as everyone has something unique to bring to the table.

A valid take on this matter. While some individuals might be inspired by others success and the path they took to achieving it and therefore decide to follow them it won't be simply copying as everyone has different ideas and would therefore bring new flair or a different aesthetic to the matter.