Coincidence?

[Earl Weiss]

Coincidence or???????
In the January 2000 issue of Taekwon-Do Times an article I submitted in 1998 was published entitled
"Nam Tae Hi Chung Do Kwan’s Quiet Man" A copy is on my website.
http://371078645507472465-a-1802744...GZfzzla7RbJc6YuIIm_zYeibXjVL0=&attredirects=0
This article was cited by author Alex Gillis in a Killing art in both the footnotes and bibliography. Various other articles have cited it as well.
In issue #15 (May 2010)of Totally Tae Kwon Do, starting at page 9 is an article "Nam, Tae Hi the silent founder of Tae Kwon Do".
To download the issue follow this link:
http://www.raynerslanetkd.com/TTKD/Download.html
If you have the time please review the articles and provide your opinion as to whether similarities are coincidence or....?

 

[jks9199]

At a quick read -- I'd guess that perhaps your article was one of the sources the used in the later article. But it didn't scream outright plagiarism to me.

 

[IcemanSK]

I couldn't open the article on GM Nam, but I found it here.
http://www.bluecottagetkd.com/Pioneers.html

Is this the same article?

 

[terryl965]

It really does look similar but I believe he was using your to back his up as a reference guide.

 

[StudentCarl]

I read both from start to finish, beginning with yours. Although I didn't see any evidence of plagiarism, I did see in Lyndsey Reynolds' article a lower standard of scholarship since the source citations are absent.

Your article is more credible because you clearly have met and spoken with GM Nam. It is evident that your article is the result of interview(s) with the original source, though no formal interviews are cited.

The Reynolds' article, while mentioning at the start the book 'A Killing Art', does not source or provide citations for any of the information contained in the article. Based on the initial reference, it's only reasonable to conclude that all of the information comes from the book. Is this a book report/summary? It would be appropriate for the author to clarify for us.

I did not seen any evidence to support an assertion of plagiarism.

On a personal level, thank you Master Weiss for the excellent article. I hadn't read it before and was pleased to add a face and a story to my understanding of the history of our art. Thank you to GM Nam for leading from the front, as all good teaching is by example. Your actions shaped what I learn and practice today.

Carl

 

[Earl Weiss]

I couldn't open the article on GM Nam, but I found it here.
http://www.bluecottagetkd.com/Pioneers.html

Is this the same article?

Yes.

 

[Earl Weiss]

The consensus seems to be that tyhere was no plagiarism.

I have asked for opinions and will accept the consensus.

 

[granfire]

I suppose you can take it as a compliment that your writings were highly inspiring!

 

[dancingalone]

If you know someone who is a university lecturer, it might be a fun exercise to ask if they access to some plagiarism detection software. I understand there's some programs out there that will analyze two composition examples and then give a similarity index number. The local big state university in my city uses such as a final verdict of whether plagiarism occurred or not.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I suppose you can take it as a compliment that your writings were highly inspiring!

Well, I might except that this person apparently did not read my work so there was no inspiration from me!

 

[Earl Weiss]

If you know someone who is a university lecturer, it might be a fun exercise to ask if they access to some plagiarism detection software. I understand there's some programs out there that will analyze two composition examples and then give a similarity index number. The local big state university in my city uses such as a final verdict of whether plagiarism occurred or not.

I know this exists, but I do not think it can be done from a PDF so both would have to be retyped, unless of course the auhor was willing to provie me with the electronic version.

 

[dancingalone]

I know this exists, but I do not think it can be done from a PDF so both would have to be retyped, unless of course the auhor was willing to provie me with the electronic version.

You can copy and paste text from a PDF if you have the full version of Adobe Acrobat. There are a number of other solutions to this problem if you run Linux, but having Adobe Acrobat Full is probably the easiest path technically for non-IT people.

 

[Miles]

I've read both and if the original was not a source, it was at least an inspiration for the latter. I don't know what are the requirements in order to find plagiarism. There might be software to detect it, but you might speak with someone at a local college as to their opinion.

 

[granfire]

Well, I might except that this person apparently did not read my work so there was no inspiration from me!

How can one be inspired by something (to the point of sounding very similar) if they have not read it?

 

[Earl Weiss]

How can one be inspired by something (to the point of sounding very similar) if they have not read it?

Here is how. You do a Google search and you run across an article like this:
http://www.utfmadison.com/chung_do_kwan_history.php

When originaly posted on the net it did not provide accreditation to my work. Somehow I ran across it and contacted the website seeking credit if it was in fact my work that was used. The website then provided the credit. Now, if someone doing research runs across such an article they unknowingly use what they may feel is simply general public info.

I have contacted other websites with similar articles asking for the source of their information and have not recieved a reply.

Certainly, facts recited in my article could be gleaned from independant sources such as subsequent interviews. Some such as the Wiki piece and A Killing Art cite my work in footnotes as do other items.

The publishing of items which post date mine and have similarities can certainly be curious as to the source of information if no citation is provided.

FWIW GM Nam was out of the public eye for quite some time. I did not know where he was and only learned he was still around when he appeared at Han Cha Kyo's funeral. I tracked him down thru connections in the local Korean community by finding his son who has a local business. For whatever reason there seemed some initial reluctance to meet with me but after the initial meeting things warmed up nicely. I asked him to teach a class at my school. Again he was reluctant and things went so well we repeated the event about a year later. We had several more meetings, (more interesting stories for another time) and he seemingly became much more active in the local TKD community as well, and later even internationaly. I cannot say if my seeking him out and these activities were related or not.

I had another motive as well. Some figured it out, and that was to have General Choi and he meet once again. Sadly, I failed. When I hosted General Choi in 2000 GM Nam was out of town.