ABSTRACT
The misconception of the relation between thought and words that is the underlying cause of virtually all the phenomena has led to some remarkable changes in our attitude toward plagiarism, quotations, and generally the use of words that in some sense belong to others. The rules about using other people's ideas are not perfectly clear, if only because the facts in specific cases can be difficult to establish: when does an idea enter the public domain, and cease to be someone's private property? The possible pitfalls in using other people's words are greatly multiplied when those words were not written but spoken. Most of the writers so charged admitted to some degree of culpability, but usually claimed that they had been simply careless and hasty, not intentional plagiarists. When a writer uses an idea that he/she has found in someone else's writings, he/she is required by professional ethics to acknowledge that fact.
