On Mon, Aug 29, 2011 at 1:51 AM, Suresh Ramasubramanian <sur...@hserus.net> wrote: > There's of course www.itwofs.com if you want more, lots more of this
I have mixed feelings about plagiarism in the developing world context. On the one hand I share the developed world abhorrence of the practice, yet on the other I find it a remarkably good shortcut to deliver more for less. Originality comes at a cost, it's simply not cost effective. In the developing world context, where cost matters more than anything, moral objections are swiftly cast aside by the consumer and the producer alike in favor of efficiency and expediency. India graduates a surprisingly high number of engineers and doctors every year from its Universities, yet, barring a handful, most of them are ill qualified to be honored with their degrees. This is a charade that modern Indian society willingly indulges in. By pretending there are sufficient doctors and engineers India is able to go toe to toe with the developed nations, and after paying the price for their ignorance in a few early missteps, helpfully aided by lax malpractice laws, eventually these counterfeit professionals enter the mainstream as originals. India is famous for its counterfeit publishing, DVD and pharma industries. Cloned books, movies and medicines are produced without royalty payments at mere fractions of the price, and often the quality of the original. This is sufficient to save, educate and entertain the millions of Indians who would otherwise be left wanting. India cannot produce the most movies on the planet, and also every now and then the occasionally watchable movie without engaging in piracy and plagiarism. Today's terrorists are tomorrow's freedom fighters. Insisting on originality that the pocketbook cannot afford is foolishness. Cheeni
