I followed this link from Tyler Cowen to “Ben Casnocha on Chile” and found . . . a long blog entry that was exactly in the style of Tyler Cowen! I wonder if Cowen realized this when he linked to it. Probably not: just as we don’t notice our own strong smells (or so I’ve been told), it’s probably also hard for anyone to notice an imitation of one’s own style. I do wonder whether Casnocha was imitating Cowen on purpose–not such a bad idea when blogging to imitate a master, just as short-story writers continue to imitate John Updike. Personally, I’m sick and tired of book and movie reviewers imitating Pauline Kael–I didn’t even like her own writing and I don’t enjoy seeing her stylistic ticks repeated by others–but, hey, that’s their choice.

P.S. In case you’re wondering, here are a few Cowenisms in Casnocha’s blog:

Abortion is still illegal here and divorce was too until only recently. . . . The elite are Catholic, but “the masses” are not as much. I have not yet met a Chilean under 30 years old who fervently believes in religion. Most go to church to appease their parents.

Pinochet’s legacy in Chile is complicated and it is hard to find sources who can assess his pros and cons objectively.

Santiago is just as beautiful as B.A. and of course it is much safer and less corrupt. Colombians and Mexicans I know call Santiago “boring.” It is less chaotic than Mexico City and more predictable than Bogota but it is not boring.

Buenos Aires is the hipper Southern Cone capital city; Patagonia is not seen as uniquely Chilean, and it’s not; the Atacama desert and Easter Island are low-profile; and other than wine there are no famous Chilean exports. (Yes there’s salmon and copper and others but people don’t know about them.)

It’s not that Cowen would’ve written all of these things, or even any of them–one thing Casnocha doesn’t seem to have is Cowen’s gift for pithiness–but I think they’re basically in his style.

P.S. Style is a subset of content, but the converse holds also: content is a subset of style.