New York Times has egg on its face ... looks like plagiarism & they're sorry.

[LiberalHeart]

Here's a case where you can be the judge: did the Times' essay writer lift his content from someone else's book? The Times must think so if they're going to publish a mea culpa:

http://newsgrinder.blogspot.com/2007/03/oh-dear-plagiarism-at-new-york-times.html

[rocktivity]

1. Well, if it's not plagiarism, it's a hell of a coincidence

Schott's (essay) begins: "I have to admit I was flattered when, returning to my hotel room on the shores of Lake Como, a beautiful Italian chambermaid took my hand...Escorting me to the edge of the crisply made bed, the chambermaid pointed to a book on my bedside table. 'Does this belong to you?' she asked. I looked down to see a dog-eared copy of Evelyn Waugh's 'Vile Bodies' open spread-eagle, its cracked spine facing out. 'Yes,' I replied. 'Sir, that is no way to treat a book!' she declared, stalking out of the room."

Fadiman's essay begins: "When I was 11 and my brother was 13, our parents took us to Europe. At the Hôtel d'Angleterre in Copenhagen, as he had done virtually every night of his literate life, Kim left a book facedown on the bedside table. The next afternoon, he returned to find the book closed, a piece of paper inserted to mark the page, and the following note, signed by the chambermaid, resting on its cover: "Sir, you must never do that to a book."

At any rate, both "authors" derserved their "punishment"--NEVER dog-ear or bend the spine of a book!

:headbang:
rocknation

[LiberalHeart]

2. My dad had really awful way of keeping his place in a book...

When he finished reading both sides of a page, he ripped it out. Made me a little ill to see him do it.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

4. Normally I don't support the death penalty but hearing someone doing that

to a book and I might have to reconsider my position. HE TEARS THE PAGES OUT!!!!

[pnwmom]

5. Did you ever ask him why he did that?

[LiberalHeart]

7. I didn't ask why ... but...

I did rant and rave. And the weird thing is, he loved books (he was a rare book dealer).

The reason I didn't ask "why" is because I knew the answer: he found it efficient. And because he always carried a book with him, it got lighter as he read (he read nothing but hardcovers), which I'm sure he appreciated.

[pnwmom]

12. He was a rare book dealer and he didn't see the value of passing a

book on? Or was he only reading stuff he didn't want you to read?

:evilgrin:

[LiberalHeart]

15. He read mysteries, mostly. Some people don't give away the ending, but...

...he apparently didn't want to give away the beginning, so he got rid of it a page at a time.

[pnwmom]

16. And helped ensure that every book he read

was a little bit rarer.

[cali]

11. Hey, I had a boyfriend whose Mom did that.

It drove me slightly nuts.

[pnwmom]

13. Another weird coincidence. And if two different writers were to write

about such a thing, the second one would be accused of plagiarism.

[pnwmom]

3. Doesn't seem all that egregious to me. Coincidences do happen.

Isn't it possible that two different writers happened to have a similar idea or experience?

I was once going to write about a funny incident that happened to me in a restaurant -- after I asked for a doggy bag, the waitress brought me a big bag with all the meat bones from the restaurant that night. But before I got around to writing about it, I read another humorous account of almost the same thing, in a restaurant thousands of miles away.

If I hadn't run across that story -- and had written mine -- someone down the road could have accused me of plagiarism.

[LiberalHeart]

8. Okay, you do have a point. Now a question...

Was the waitress being funny or helpful?

Best thing I ever saw in a restaurant: A waitress was tired of her customers being so grumpy, so she just started clearing the table in mid-meal and told them they weren't getting the food back till someone said something nice or at least smiled. They cracked up and she put the food back.

[pnwmom]

10. The latter. Maybe I should have been suspicious

when she asked me "beeeg dog -- or leeetle dog?" I didn't feel like going into the fact that the food was for me, not some imaginary dog, and I wanted ALL of my leftovers -- so I said "big dog."

A little while later, she brought out a large brown paper bag filled to the brim with bones and meat scraps. I was too shocked to do anything but take the bag and thank her. Fortunately, I knew some big dogs that were more grateful than I was.

[Solo_in_MD]

6. Again?

[Skittles]

9. why is it the chambermaid's business how I treat my book?

that is the real question

[JackRiddler]

14. Teapot tempest...

Here I was hoping something big and the actual case is utterly trivial. Schott's excuse - that the topic is sufficiently narrow to allow for similar anecdotes by coincidence - is not impossible. And who's to say that chambermaids in Italy and Copenhagen are not equally passionate book lovers?

[pnwmom]

17. I'm half-tempted to start leaving books around in every hotel room I go to

to see if someone, somewhere, leaves me a note.

:)

[Eric J in MN]

18. So he re-hashed a joke. Big whoop. Not plagiarism. NT

NT