People and things worthy or unworthy of imitation.
Positive Mimesis
I've been enjoying the show The Food That Built America—especially Season 2 (The White Castle/Nathan's hot dog episode is a personal favorite, as are all the ones about McDonald's vs. Burger King). It is produced by the amazing Lucky 8 out of New York City. Each episode is a case study in mimetic rivalry. You not only learn a fascinating part of our nation's history and get a striking depiction of the risks that entrepreneurs take to bring their vision to reality; you also see at least some of the "generative" powers of mimetic rivalry when it is applied to the economic domain. In other words, the positive side of competition: spurring important innovations out of necessity.
Negative Mimesis
My friend Jimmy Soni has a book coming out in February called The Founders, about Peter Thiel and the other PayPal co-founders—the so-called PayPal mafia. I recommend it because I know the extent of Jimmy’s serious research over the …
