The Odd Relationship Between Biological Mimicry and Humans' Conformity

The evolutionary biology speaks about mimicry as being that capacity of one species to imitate, to adopt the behaviour, aspect, sound, smell and even location of another. This aspect of mimesis extends from the least insignificant insect to plants. The reason Nature gifted its organism with this characteristic may be reduced to a single concept: the interconnected chain of being hunter and hunted. Almost all organisms are both hunters and hunted, and seemingly, the act of mimicry helps them in avoiding the "adversary" and in preserving their lives.

The most common example would be that of the chameleon, which mimics its surroundings in order to be able to feed itself. Also, there are insects that imitate the aspect of noxious organisms, or even twigs, leaves, etc. in order to avoid being eaten. Nature functions remarkable well according to this law since times out of mind, and maybe, there is more to it than one can imagine.

What does mimicry have to do with us, humans? Well, apparently it works terrifically well with us too, only that its name is changed: we do not go unnoticed in camouflage, but when we conform. Conformity, in the end, is a form of mimesis. Why do people conform, deliberately or unintentionally? The main idea is that they do not want to stand out as individuals, be it because they are afraid to assume their responsibility for everything they do, think, act upon, etc., be it because they want to hide their real intentions and acting as all the others would not draw the attention upon them, be it because they do not even think there is another way, a less travelled path that, once taken, can reward them even better.

Except the "hunters" who apparently conform deliberately, all the others do it simply because they do not dare. Inertia has a strange way of feigning action: you do everything the others do, and as long as the verb "do" is there in your everyday life, you live with the real sensation that you act. Well, this is just an illusion! You become nothing more nothing less than a preset robot: wake up, do the jogging, eat breakfast, go to work, do whatever you are asked to do without questioning, come back from work, sit around the table with your family sometimes in absolute silence: you are too tired for conversation, or lost in a trivial conversation, get up without asking yourself what you actually learnt about your family, what they did today, how they feel, sit - again! - on the sofa or armchair in front of the TV, letting its annoying buzzing silence the other one in your head, go to bed and take a good night sleep before commencing a new day, Xeroxed after the previous one. If this is what you wish for yourself, then it is great! You live the ideal life, the one you wanted, and it is all OK.

How can one find out if (s)he acts in conformity with what it is expected from her/him? Simply by asking a question: "Why do I do it?". If the answer is: "Because this is how it is supposed to be.", then you took the wrong turn: you conform! When you realise that you conform, you need to ask yourself a new question: "Who am I?". This is the most difficult one that you will have to answer in your entire life. Yet, the answer is of utmost importance. Once you have all the data filled up in the chart of your self-definition, you will have to move on to another question: "What I love to do? What is my dream?". Here, the answer will not be sufficient; it needs to be backed up by action.

Unfortunately, action comes hand in hand with fear, and this fatal combination is the one which makes you conform. It is so much easier to blend in, to feign acceptance of everything imposed on you, to avoid taking a stand, or trying to swim against the current when it is needed. It is harder to define yourself as an individual, to think for yourself, to find your own path and enjoy travelling on it, to assume full responsibility for your mistakes and for your journey, to fight each day and strive and trod and face adversities even if only for taking just one more step. It is simpler to lay in the grass and mimic its colour, than to dare and bloom and show your uniqueness to the many blades of grass.

Standing out of the crowd is scary but not impossible. Are you saying that it is even more than scary? Lonely? Open your eyes and look around: there are so many flowers that dared to bloom and which colours your thirsty soul is searching each and every day. Why not searching for all those nuances even inside your heart because they are there waiting to be nourished? As about loneliness... No, you will not be lonely. It is just an illusion! On your growing process, you will lose sight of many blades of grass, and be glad that it happens, because this will give you a much larger view towards new horizons and will make space for the encounter with many other flowers fearful of getting too lonely up there, in the sunlight.

Mimicry is not an infallible law. As it happens in Nature - there will always be a better hunter, which can distinguish the fake from the original - so it will happen to you, with the only difference that the "hunter" and the "hunted" blend inside your heart. It is the one that, on the long run, it will hunt down your certainties and will ask you two painful questions: "What if?" and "Why did you not dare to act?". This is a pain you can avoid. So, it is up to you if you choose to act or conform.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6293278

reuters news edible arrangements nazareth michael savage blake griffin tyrod taylor doodle for google