Plagiarism: Are We Ever Original?
Are we ever original? And lest you think it is a defense of Kaaviya of the fifteen minutes fame, no, it is not.
It is getting increasingly difficult to be an original. The weight of history, time, the billions -- both who have lived and who think they are living - have done things, uttered words, written things that makes me believe the scope to be original is getting rarer than the air on top of Everest. Only the hardy or the foolhardy can survive there without oxygen for any period of time.
World Cup of Soccer is the rage these days. Will someone, preferably with good assets streak across? Maybe. But it won't be an original act. Streakers have done it in the past -- Wimbledon, Cricket, Oscars.
Will someone be original and write a bad book that nobody will buy. Nothing original there also. This, too, happens all the time.
There is nothing original left in man-bites-dog news anymore.
Israelis are armed with nuclear arsenal and have latest hi tech military equipment. They kill unarmed Palestinian civilians. The Palestinians armed with stones and knives fight back and when they can get rdx they blow themselves up along with Israeli civilians. It seems to me this has been going on for ever and won't stop any time soon. Yawn. Pardon my skepticism, while I bemoan the loss of civilian lives, this is not newsworthy and certainly not original.
***
In a response to a post of mine here someone posted this comment:
My reply to above:
Anonymous:
Why do you copy otehre peoles post.
may i take the liberty of assuming that your post is a broadside at my post #2?
if am wrong please ignore and forgive and i beg your pardon...please do not report this indiscretion to the von siff gestapo
if am not wrong then let me admit that except on those occasions where i coin words...have consistently used words that have been uttered or written by others
for example take this: go drown in a poodle
1: I take the view, and always have, that if you cannot say what you are going to say in twenty minutes you ought to go away and write a book about it. -- Lord Brabazon (1884 - 1964)
2: Anyone can post messages to the net. Practically everyone does. The resulting cacophony drowns out serious discussion. -- Clifford Stoll, Silicon Snake Oil, 1995
3: If a man is destined to drown, he will drown even in a spoonful of water. -- Yiddish Proverb
4: How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese? -- Charles De Gaulle (1890 - 1970), in "Les Mots du General", 1962
5: I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. -- Rita Rudner
just between us bro (or is it sis?) can you whisper? if you can please whisper if you think i am plagiarising...i need to know while am still breathing and can take it on the chin...later (as in when i cease inhaling) it might look terrible on my cv
***
I have no heard a pipsqueak from him/her. While I am positive I am not consciously plagiarising anyone I know or do not know, the possibility exists that someone, somewhere has had similar thoughts.
Do we condone this? I suppose we can, as long there is no advance royalty involved. Wait. The fellow who took off with Sakshi Juneja's post did not get paid. There goes the money theory.
Let me advance another the Teflon theory. Don't get caught.
It is getting increasingly difficult to be an original. The weight of history, time, the billions -- both who have lived and who think they are living - have done things, uttered words, written things that makes me believe the scope to be original is getting rarer than the air on top of Everest. Only the hardy or the foolhardy can survive there without oxygen for any period of time.
World Cup of Soccer is the rage these days. Will someone, preferably with good assets streak across? Maybe. But it won't be an original act. Streakers have done it in the past -- Wimbledon, Cricket, Oscars.
Will someone be original and write a bad book that nobody will buy. Nothing original there also. This, too, happens all the time.
There is nothing original left in man-bites-dog news anymore.
Israelis are armed with nuclear arsenal and have latest hi tech military equipment. They kill unarmed Palestinian civilians. The Palestinians armed with stones and knives fight back and when they can get rdx they blow themselves up along with Israeli civilians. It seems to me this has been going on for ever and won't stop any time soon. Yawn. Pardon my skepticism, while I bemoan the loss of civilian lives, this is not newsworthy and certainly not original.
***
In a response to a post of mine here someone posted this comment:
anonymous
June 27, 2006
05:21 PM
Why do you copy otehre (sic) peoles (sic) post.
My reply to above:
Anonymous:
Why do you copy otehre peoles post.
may i take the liberty of assuming that your post is a broadside at my post #2?
if am wrong please ignore and forgive and i beg your pardon...please do not report this indiscretion to the von siff gestapo
if am not wrong then let me admit that except on those occasions where i coin words...have consistently used words that have been uttered or written by others
for example take this: go drown in a poodle
1: I take the view, and always have, that if you cannot say what you are going to say in twenty minutes you ought to go away and write a book about it. -- Lord Brabazon (1884 - 1964)
2: Anyone can post messages to the net. Practically everyone does. The resulting cacophony drowns out serious discussion. -- Clifford Stoll, Silicon Snake Oil, 1995
3: If a man is destined to drown, he will drown even in a spoonful of water. -- Yiddish Proverb
4: How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese? -- Charles De Gaulle (1890 - 1970), in "Les Mots du General", 1962
5: I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. -- Rita Rudner
just between us bro (or is it sis?) can you whisper? if you can please whisper if you think i am plagiarising...i need to know while am still breathing and can take it on the chin...later (as in when i cease inhaling) it might look terrible on my cv
***
I have no heard a pipsqueak from him/her. While I am positive I am not consciously plagiarising anyone I know or do not know, the possibility exists that someone, somewhere has had similar thoughts.
Do we condone this? I suppose we can, as long there is no advance royalty involved. Wait. The fellow who took off with Sakshi Juneja's post did not get paid. There goes the money theory.
Let me advance another the Teflon theory. Don't get caught.
posted by temporal at 6/28/2006
5 Comments:
"The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources." - Einstein
There I have not plagiarized in my comment..nor have I been creative! ;)
:)
Hey Temporal,
Thanks for your feedback and for reading:). I intentinally took a rather simplistic approach in addressing a very deep and dangerous issue....Religion being stripped of sprituality. It bothers me immensely.
Anyway, I see you're very active on both chowk and desicritic:)
I read a few of your blogs, you have a unique perspective and refreshing style of writing.
Hope we can both share and benefit from each others views and perspectives.:)
you are being enigmatic:)
yes those are 'dangerous' waters to tread...a minor correction if you will...as an active contributing editor on desicritic don't have time left for other sites
thanks for your comments
I think, although it is difficult to be original in idea or invention, we can be original in our interpretation, perspective or presentation.
Some would in fact consider this an innovation in itself.
Post a Comment
<< Home