Painterly two crossed feather quills over blank paper with a small ink blot.

Original artwork, not a still

Wilson Mizner

If you copy from one author, it’s plagiarism. If you copy from two, it’s research.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The joke changes the name of copying when the number of sources rises from one to two. A tiny numerical difference supposedly turns misconduct into respectable work. That convenient distinction satirises how an academic label can disguise the same underlying act of borrowing.

Context reviewed

Share this quote