Lookalikes

There is something that we all assume. We are unique. We are individual. There is no one in the world who is exactly like me. That is why it is so shocking when we meet someone who looks like us.

Recently a friend of mine befriended another guy in Colorado. She showed me a picture of this guy and I was shocked. He had my same face, but with a different haircut. I honestly thought it was a picture of me from middle school for a while. I had two urges at the same time. One, the more common thought, was to meet up with him and form an amazing friendship based on the fact that we kind of look like one another and pull wacky pranks based on that. Two, the slightly more disturbing one, eliminate him so that I am the only Adam-lookalike in the world.

There is an interesting statistic out there that puts a twist on the phrase “one in a million”. It goes “Even if you are one in a million, there are six thousand humans exactly like you.” A clever little statistic twist on a common saying, and yet disturbing. We like to think of ourselves as unique individuals. The whole foundation of social media is that we are unique and we should let everyone know the things we do. It’s hard to picture another person like yourself.

I always have envied and pitied identical twins. It must be amazing to have someone who is that close to you. That, genetically, is the exact same as you. There are so many fun things you can do if your twins, and it’s always an interesting conversation-starter or joke among friends. At the same time, I think if I was someone’s identical twin, I would strive all the time for individuality and my own personal recognition. I want to be recognized as Adam instead of Adam and Alec (We have similar first names because that is how you are supposed to name twins).

I think the really important part of being an individual is that it recognizes that we have our own separate set of experiences, thoughts, and feelings that make us important in some way or another to the universe. If we were all exactly the same, what would the point of doing anything be? That is one of the reasons I think identity theft and catfishing should be illeagal. Tarnishing someone’s identity is something that, in some cases, can never be fixed and will affect them for the rest of their life.

I will write another blog post about this when cloning technology reaches pedestrian levels. Oh, and Ryan Walker looks like Macklemore. Thanks for reading