From how much we eat to whom we hate, we are instinctively imitative creatures to a startling extent.

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Trying to hold on to their love for their parents, their two boys fall into increasingly nutty imitative behavior.

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In fact, more than being rational, self-interested, passionate, or imitative creatures at our root, we humans are defined by our uniquely transformational nature.

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As a case in point, one has to look no further than financial services to see the impact of destructive and imitative pay practices.

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But they are often imitative opportunists: if somebody makes a fortune selling knock-off purses, a dozen others will rush in to do the same thing.

ECONOMIST: The tiger and the tech

And imitative Chinese entrepreneurs can bring innovative management methods to China.

ECONOMIST: India and China are creating millions of entrepreneurs

We also know that children are highly imitative.

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Unfairly so: he was traditional, but not imitative.

ECONOMIST: George Lloyd