NFTs and Essentialism

Imagine a machine that could replicate anything in the universe, precisely down to the molecular level. Ignoring for a moment the impossibilities of quantum mechanics (the no-cloning theorem), we used the machine to create an identical molecular copy of the Mona Lisa. Every blob of paint, every scuff, even down to the way the canvas stretches, you place the original and the identical side by side. Then I ask you: Which one is worth more?

It turns out, there’s a lot of experimental evidence to guide us to an answer. When presented with a copy, humans prefer “the original” if they have an…