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Subject:Re: Who's the author? From:Marguerite Krupp <mkrupp -at- WORLD -dot- STD -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 10 Feb 1995 08:24:16 +0001
Realizing the dangers of reasoning by analogy, may I provide an example
from another field?
Holiday dinners are always a big deal at my house. I select the
ingredients and combine them in a way that I think my family and guests
will find pleasing (and possibly easy to use). I don't manufacture the
ingredients - I buy meat, eggs, milk, flour, etc. I delegate some facets of
the dinner; for example, the salad, veggies, or dessert. But basically, I
am responsible for the success of the dinner, therefore I am the "chef"
(from "chief"). If the dinner if a flop, I'm responsible for that too.
The ancient Greeks said that creativity is the unique combination of
known elements. So is a dinner. So is a document. The person who does the
selection and combination of the elements is the author. The author may
be assisted by specialists, but the responsibility for the success or
failure rests with the chef or author.
