In every writing class I have taken, the number one
rule has always been “do not plagiarize or fabricate material.” It seems as if even professional
journalists sometimes neglect the most basic of ethics.
The New Yorker staff
writer and best selling author Jonah Lehrer resigned yesterday after being
rightfully accused of misconstruing quotes by Bob Dylan in his latest novel Imagine: How Creativity Works, which
details how neuroscience explains creative genius.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Lehrer’s publisher, will pull the
book from bookshelves worldwide, as well as on the e-book market.
“It’s a hard thing to describe. It’s just this sense that
you have something to say,” was a concocted quote from the book, where Dylan
was supposed to be explaining the writing process on hit song “Like a Rolling Stone.”
The misquoted information was brought to the attention of Michael Moynihan, editor of Tablet, an online magazine. After he publically
questioned Lehrer, the plagiarizer was un-wittedly found in the limelight.
“The quotes in question either did not exist, were
unintentional misquotes or represented improper combinations of previously
existing quotes,” explained Lehrer. “But I told Mr. Moynihan that they were
from archival interview footage provided to me by Dylan’s representatives.”
He
claimed to have had publicly inaccessible archives from Martin Scorsese’s 2005
documentary No Direction Home, among other sources. This is not the first time
Lehrer has been accused of writing fabrications.
Well, sucks to suck, Jonah Lehrer. My journalism teacher
would be very disappointed in you. Until then, here are some Dylan songs to
enjoy.
"Don't Think Twice, It's Alright"
"Tangled Up in Blue"
"The Times They Are A-Changing"
"Mr. Tambourine Man"
"Ballad of a Thin Man" with the Grateful Dead. Great lesser known hit.
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