--- "Frederick \"FN\" Noronha" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >At the same time, let us not pretend that our views >are all original, and not influenced by what we read >and hear. >
Moving on from the issue of plagiarism to originality, I don't have to pretend. I can see plenty of originality around me everywhere I go, and in all creative disciplines - music, art, literature, mathematics, science, etc. Without the creative spark of gifted individuals the world would not have been what it is today. > >Maybe. But hasn't this been the history of all >knowledge? Dr Timothy Walker has documented how the >Portuguese were pilfering information about medical >plants in Asia in the 16th and 17th century... not >bothering to credit the unknown and unsung vaidyas >who had the knowledge then. We know how Western Europe >claimed to have "discovered" America, when people >lived their millenia before, > It is my view, and I am sure, that of many other people that we should not allow history to repeat itself. > >These are just two examples. But there are many, >many more. Take a look at Claude Alvares' earlier >contribution on the history of science (a god which >you workship as infallable, it seems to > me) ................ > All of this only seems that way to you. The reality is entirely different. In reality the history of science is replete with a dazzling display of a long string of breathtaking original insights about the natural world. In most cases these were strokes of pure genius combined with perseverance, recognizing the fact that each new generation of giants were "riding on the shoulders of" those before them. And in every single case success was built upon fallibility. Cheers, Santosh
