Why is it suddenly not a mistake, but a disagreement? Is it because the writer is "distinguished"? I once read an article (might have been an obit) about a copy editor at the New Yorker. Worked there a long time and was both feared and respected. A writer could apparently take up an issue with her, but she wouldn't budge an inch if she knew the writer was wrong. Good copy editors put the text first, the writer second.
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