Kaavya Viswanathan

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

I know that zapppop has a phonographic memory, and can remember everything he's ever heard with astounding precision. Who knows if someone with a photographic memory has so much text in their heads that they sometimes confuse imitation with the exact source.

I can relate, in the sense that I'm very good at remembering pieces of music that I have heard before and can generally play something pretty accurately, even if I haven't heard if for 10 years.

But I'm usually very aware of the source during my own recollection, and if I'm not, the one thing I am pretty certain of is that the source isn't ME.

I guess I have a hard time understanding how she could include something close to verbatim in her books and yet have this same material not ring any bells when she was writing it. If I was "borrowing" from someone else while writing something, I would like to think that I would be aware of it while doing so. And if I was aware, I would certainly alter it enough to where it wasn't easily recognizable as someone elses work.