"H. T." <electrictwilight at hotmail.com> writes: > >It is not unusual for several different scientists, or teams of scientists, > >to be working on the same theory at the same time. The one that puplishes > > first, gets the credit, even if thier research is based upon another > > persons > > initial research. Remember- one source is called plagiarism, several > > sources > >is called research. > > > I hate to be a pain in the butt... okay actually I love to be one, but > that's beside the point... but last time I looked one source without > citing its creator is plagiarism, two sources without citing their > inventors is plagiarism, twenty-sources without citing their > originators is plagiarism... and basing one's research off of anothers > data that is created at the same time as the research you are working > on, and especially the information of who you are in direct > competition with, without giving them their due, is usually industrial > espionage... > > Focusing simply on plagiarism, it's not like you could take SKZB's > works or ideas, mix a little Grisham in there and steal a little old > Orwell and create a book that is not original and/or unique... Emmm, > (I am thinking a fantastic, lawyerly, political, space opera? With > talking animals of course...). Beside it's lack of ethical standards, > you'd probably get sued for plagiarism as well as a multitude of other > things... :) > > Of course, before anyone comments on this analogy, inspiration without > plagiarism and/or stealing, wherein one creates something totally > unique is usually another thing. And yet nobody, least of all David Gerrold or Robert Heinlein, thought _The Trouble With Tribbles_ plagiarized _The Rolling Stones_. Or for that matter the Hornblower books. In literature, if you borrow from enough sources and rub off enough serial numbers, it really does stop being plagiarism. -- David Dyer-Bennet, dd-b at dd-b.net / http://www.dd-b.net/dd-b/ John Dyer-Bennet 1915-2002 Memorial Site http://john.dyer-bennet.net Dragaera mailing lists, see http://dragaera.info