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Extra Credit?
Jun. 17th, 2007 02:10 pmi
I have a sneaking suspicion that someone at History Channel (and probably Discovery Channel, too) is a fan of my Joy of High Tech columns. (At: http://www.dcr.net/~stickmak/JOHT/ )
Not long after I published one online which - among other things - discussed the development of radar in WWII, I was contacted by them and asked if I wanted to appear in a program as an expert on WWII radar. Since I'm not, I declined. I later saw just such a program, which made many of the same points I had .(Though, since their program focused on radar and my article was about several technologies developed during that conflict, they went into greater detail.)
I have since noticed that a few months to a year or so after I put a JOHT about a particular topic online, there will be a History Channel or Discovery Channel (sometimes both) show on that topic.
I'm in no way accusing them of plagiarism. There are many differences between my work and theirs, including much material they include which I don't, and often their conclusions are different from mine. Also, while my intent is to stimulate interest in technology and its history, theirs is primarily sensationalist entertainment. Also, there's no certainty they actually are getting information from my columns; people who do research on the same topic will usually uncover the same things.
Still, you'd think they would at least contact me again to see if I wanted a job as a consultant or researcher, or maybe a scriptwriter. Since I do seem to come up with general ideas they later use.
One interesting and a bit annoying note; my article on the F-104 has been linked to by Web sites all over the globe. I even had the curator of a museum ask to use it for their Zipper exhibit. That article has generated praise from F-104 pilots for setting the record straight and getting the facts right, and from a fighter combat instructor for my explanation of energy maneuvering. Yet several History Channel/Discovery Channel/etc. programs on jet fighters have repeated myths about the F-104 which I thoroughly debunked in my column. So, obviously, not all the people preparing these shows are fans of my work.
I have a sneaking suspicion that someone at History Channel (and probably Discovery Channel, too) is a fan of my Joy of High Tech columns. (At: http://www.dcr.net/~stickmak/JOHT/ )
Not long after I published one online which - among other things - discussed the development of radar in WWII, I was contacted by them and asked if I wanted to appear in a program as an expert on WWII radar. Since I'm not, I declined. I later saw just such a program, which made many of the same points I had .(Though, since their program focused on radar and my article was about several technologies developed during that conflict, they went into greater detail.)
I have since noticed that a few months to a year or so after I put a JOHT about a particular topic online, there will be a History Channel or Discovery Channel (sometimes both) show on that topic.
I'm in no way accusing them of plagiarism. There are many differences between my work and theirs, including much material they include which I don't, and often their conclusions are different from mine. Also, while my intent is to stimulate interest in technology and its history, theirs is primarily sensationalist entertainment. Also, there's no certainty they actually are getting information from my columns; people who do research on the same topic will usually uncover the same things.
Still, you'd think they would at least contact me again to see if I wanted a job as a consultant or researcher, or maybe a scriptwriter. Since I do seem to come up with general ideas they later use.
One interesting and a bit annoying note; my article on the F-104 has been linked to by Web sites all over the globe. I even had the curator of a museum ask to use it for their Zipper exhibit. That article has generated praise from F-104 pilots for setting the record straight and getting the facts right, and from a fighter combat instructor for my explanation of energy maneuvering. Yet several History Channel/Discovery Channel/etc. programs on jet fighters have repeated myths about the F-104 which I thoroughly debunked in my column. So, obviously, not all the people preparing these shows are fans of my work.
