The fundamental puzzles of mechanization are addressed here: for example, the question of how the current state of mechanization becomes the standard for civilization, and the riddle that modern technology is both a curse and a blessing, resulting in a sorcerer's apprentice effect. The concept of mimesis clarifies such questions. Mimesis is, as a fundamental human capacity, both imitation and appropriation. It is the transformative ability to internalize perceptions and reshape them into imaginations and concepts, and it is a source of creative forces. In modernity, the mimetic appropriations of mechanization are significant. Mimesis concerning machines has profound consequences for people's self-image and for all activities. This process can lead to a civilizational implosion, which can be countered with a civilizational policy using new mimetic role models.