This difference between Lethem’s definition and the widely accepted definition of plagiarism is that society’s definition acknowledges that completely original ideas do exist in the world. However, based on Lethem’s claims, even these “original” ideas are influenced by something in some way. This distinction shows the difference between the understanding of how ideas come about between academic hierarchies and the scholarly community. This difference likely comes about due to the few people who do not acknowledge that scholarly work is something an individual should do to improve his or her own knowledge, not for a grade in a class. The restrictions on plagiarism are put in place in Rutgers as well as other institutions to reinforce this purpose, yet it seems to have backfired in such a way that it limits the effectiveness of progression in research and the arts as described by Lethem.
What could be done to remedy this distinction is come up with a different way to restrict the sharing of writings and ideas between scholars. By using a different method, the restrictions that plagiarism places on the progression of the collective intelligence of society will be eliminated. Removing such restrictions would produce results equivalent to that of Davidson’s iPod experiment or the creation of the Pandemonium system by Oliver Selfridge in Johnson’s The Myth of the Ant Queen.
No comments:
Post a Comment