3.643 plagarism, cont. (62)
Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca)
Thu, 26 Oct 89 18:12:49 EDT
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 643. Thursday, 26 Oct 1989.
(1) Date: Wed, 25 Oct 89 09:37:50 EDT (8 lines)
From: db <BOYARIN@TAUNIVM>
Subject: Re: 3.630 hidden files; plagarism, etc. (88)
(2) Date: Wed, 25 Oct 89 19:34:33 EDT (34 lines)
From: Clarence Brown <CB@PUCC>
Subject: Lenoble on plagarism and other matters
(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 89 09:37:50 EDT
From: db <BOYARIN@TAUNIVM>
Subject: Re: 3.630 hidden files; plagarism, etc. (88)
re: plagiarism
If a student of mine had copied an epistle of Paul's and handed it in
as an essay on Abraham, I would have given him/her and A+. So would
Borges (rip) I suspect.
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------37----
Date: Wed, 25 Oct 89 19:34:33 EDT
From: Clarence Brown <CB@PUCC>
Subject: Lenoble on plagarism and other matters
[The following was sent to me with the request to forward it to Lenoble,
a Humanist who has written recently about plagarism. I was, however,
invited to give it wider distribution if I liked. I do, and here it is.
--W.M.]
Dear Michel Lenoble: I have just joined Humanist, and this is my first attempt
to send a message to anyone. Forgive all signs of amateurism, please. I am writ
ing to say that your name stuck in my mind as the author of two recent contri
butions: one about plagiarism and one about the stupidity of the documentation
accompanying applications.
The last first: Surely there must have been a great deal of applause from those
who read your brief message. What I wonder is this: is there any way for
Humanist to register the opinion of subscribers short of actually sending in
a message? Any way at all to let you know that your sentiments evoked a warm
resonse? Applause is worthless if it isn't heard.
The type of plagiarism that interests me involves translation. I have done a
fair amount of translation (from the Russian), and my work has been stolen
repeatedly, sometimes even by respected people in the field! The way of detec
ting plagiarism in translation is delightfully simple. All translations con
tain errors and omissions. The unwary plagiarist, using your work while pre
tending to use the original, will make the same errors and omissions. The
change of this happening innocently is a statistical monstrosity. The trans
lation plagiarist typically hides his theft by the good old method of para
phrase, but you cannot paraphrase exactly the same omissions and errors and
get away with it. I don't have the vaguest idea how these thoughts might be
made of some use in the area that concerns you but thought I would share them
as my maiden flight through the ether of Humanist. Vale.