Kevin Laland acknowledges that imitation has a bad reputation. But, he says, researchers like him—in fields from biology to economics to psychology to political science—are discovering how valuable imitation can be as a way of learning new skills and making intelligent decisions. Researchers from these varied disciplines are using models and simulations, as well as historical analyses and real-world case studies, to show that imitation is often the most efficient and effective route to successful performance. And they’re elaborating the reasons why this is so—reasons vividly illustrated by
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