I quite inadvertently came across a 19th-century magazine article today that sounded strikingly familiar. I tracked down the only thing I could think of that could have included something similar � an important book by a famous historical figure published a year after the article. I was right. The passage � about three pages worth � appears to be plagiarized. It�s rearranged somewhat, but many of the quotations are word for word, completely unattributed. I�m not quite sure what to make of this.

I really need to gather some more evidence before I make this particular case. The article was published without a byline, so theoretically it�s possible that the Famous Historical Figure wrote the article too, although it seems unlikely given this person�s life history at the time.

Metonym has recently observed that some kinds of plagiarism are not as severe as others and I�m inclined to agree. I don�t think, for instance, that undergraduate students writing formulaic genre novels should be held to the same standards as established historians. The stakes are different.

Metonym has also observed that in some cultures and genres plagiarism is not a negative but an expected, a part of what the art is about. That is certainly true (to a point, at least) in music in other countries and other eras � our obsession with originality is relatively recent. It does, however, encompass the period in which the texts in question were written.

If the article and book were written today, you can bet you�d be reading about it on the front page of the newspaper. But in its time, perhaps it was not so bad. It is a relatively small portion of a long book. It�s akin a student using a single source for a section of a research paper and not being careful enough to cover his tracks. Except it�s not a student. It�s someone famous.
Hmm.

What to do.

Well, I know one thing you can do. You can read one economist�s contribution to that eternal debate, should the toilet seat be up or down? (It�s a .pdf file � scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on �Up or Down? A Male Economist�s Manifesto on the Toilet Seat Etiquette). There are formulas and charts and everything!

Or, if you�re still interested in the plagiarism topic, you could read this article (May require NY Times registration/membership), which had me laughing loudly into my coffee last weekend. It takes the form of a mock interview by Larry King with the author, John Kenney. A sample passage:

MR. KING Are there similarities between your new novel, "The Great Gatsby" and "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald?

MR. KENNEY Not so much "similarities." They're actually identical.

MR. KING I see.

MR. KENNEY Except for my name as author.

If only it were that easy. My dissertation would have been done a long time ago:

HARRIET Here's my dissertation. It's all finished.

ADVISOR But Harriet, you just defended your proposal yesterday.

HARRIET: I was inspired. What can I say?

ADVISOR: "Opera and Drama in Russia as Preached in the 1860s." Hey, this sounds a lot like a dissertation written by Richard Taruskin in 1981.

HARRIET: Taruskin is an important influence on my work.

ADVISOR: It's exactly the same.

HARRIET: Not exactly.

ADVISOR: How is it different?

HARRIET: It's got my name on it.

ADVISOR: Oh, okay then. Let's schedule your defense.

[Second entry today. Click back for naked suffragists.]

3 people said it like they meant it