Is it embarrassing, or simply confirmation? It used to be considered embarrassing to show up at an event dressed identically to someone else, if it wasn’t intentional. It was considered, in some way, a slight on your personal expression. This happened to me while still commuting when another employee and I had worn a very similar shirt for an event at work. (He was more embarrassed than I was, for the record.) What often feels more embarrassing to me is when I notice something I’ve never seen anybody else write about, get it all written up, and then discover that someone posted something similar on the internet someplace. It has happened more than once—indeed, many times. I feel embarrassed for not having known about the observation, no matter in how an obscure virtual a corner it was kept.
Perhaps these are just growing pains for the terminally curious. Some of us constantly observe things we find curious, and start to connect the dots. Someone else might’ve gone over this conundrum before, the way you pick up a waiting room magazine only to find the crossword puzzle already done. What gives me hope in such circumstances are twofold facts: that someone else has spotted this confirms my observations, and that my interpretation is different from theirs. My great fear, however, is that someone might think I’ve plagiarized. This is a mortal sin for academics. I would simply note that many of us read lots of stuff without noting where, and that I would remember if I intentionally lifted an idea from something somebody else pointed out.
I’m sure there are many examples of this on this blog. Apart from posts that reflect an experience unique to yours truly, that is. It’s getting tricky to say anything that hasn’t been said. A recent newsworthy event occurred that called for comment from someone with my background. By the time I’d scrawled a first sentence about it, others had written, and posted, full articles conveying what I would’ve had to say about the thing. Embarrassing. It has also made publishing much harder. Even small, independent publishers in the non-academic sector only consider books sent from agents. And agents are nothing if not aloof. Too many submissions from too many wannabes. Is there anything unusual, remarkable, here at all? I’d say it’s my perspective. Others can string words together. Others can even buy the same cheap shirt that I purchase. But they don’t see it from my angle. Of that I’m certain. Ask anybody else who’s made a similar observation. They’ll confirm it.