Published Blunders: Michael Pollan’s Dilemma
Actually it’s the dilemma of Penguin Press. How dare they let a typo go in The Omnivore’s Dilemma! Don’t they know it’s a classic? Typos in classics are egregious and so many people will be witness to their mistake.
Apparently Michael Pollan wrote:
If I crossed two corn plants to create a variety with an especially desirable trait, I could sell you my special seeds, but only once, since the corn you grew from my special seeds would produce lots more special seeds, for free and forever, putting me out business in short order.
Surely what Pollan was trying to say was, “…putting me out of business in short order.” Yes, that looks much better.
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