Sometimes it’s better to keep up with the literature. I was just reading Richard Hanley’s article “As Good as it Gets: Lewis on Truth in Fiction”:http://www3.oup.co.uk/ajphil/hdb/Volume_82/Issue_01/. (Link is to the subscriber-only AJP page.) And my discussion “here”:http://tar.weatherson.org/archives/000952.html of what to say about phone numbers starting “555” in fictions is rather completely anticipated.

It wasn’t a complete waste to write what I did. I agree with “John Quiggin”:http://www.crookedtimber.org/archives/001859.html that it’s worthwhile to try deriving results on one’s ownsome from time to time. But still it’s good form to credit those who beat you to the punch.