Thank you for your very interesting email. Years ago, when I was involved with formal academia (frequenting colleges and universities) the function of “amanuensis” was fairly common. I am not sure if this is the case today – as I am engaged in a broad post-doctorate study that involves researching in (and from) various sources of data. Generally, this is termed “field work”, etc, and can involve much travelling – but with the advent of the internet means that “without going out of my room – I can know all things” – to quote the Book of Change. I often find that examining the Chinese-language equivalent of Western words can give an important insght into the historical meaning of these terms.
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 