Why does lee say that chinese food is like an open source computer program?

Lee says that Chinese food is like an open source computer program

Explanation:

"Lee presents an intriguing idea in a chapter called “Open-Source Chinese Restaurants,” contending that “if McDonald’s is the Windows of the dining world (where one company controls the standards), then Chinese restaurants are akin to the Linux operating system, where a decentralized network of programmers contributes to the underlying source code.” She contrasts the decade of “failed experimentation” before the success of Chicken McNuggets to the breathtaking speed with which chop suey, fortune cookies and General Tso’s chicken took hold in Chinese restaurants everywhere thanks to a “self-organizing” system in which good ideas spread like urban legends."

Reference: Stern, Jane, and Michael Stern. “Wok On.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Mar. 2008