The tendency in a book like this is to minimize exceptions and get on with things. But one pays a price for the space or the time one saves. (I, p. 63)
Space and Time, part II
Published by Mark Samples
During the challenge, I was a PhD student in musicology at the University of Oregon (completed 2011). Currently, I am an Assistant Professor of music at Central Washington University. I research music branding and arts entrepreneurship, and teach courses in music history, arts and entrepreneurship, and the history of jazz. Mark has a new blog here: http://www.mark-samples.com Mark's faculty page: http://www.cwu.edu/music/dr-mark-samples View all posts by Mark Samples
The Taruskin Challenge 
A metaphor for the transition from orality to literacy?
Exactly. If you know four versions of a tune, and want to put it down on parchment, you are forced to make a choice. And the scribes who took down chant probably didn’t have the leeway from their editors that Taruskin got from his.