Albert Einstein? Lincoln Barnett? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Albert Einstein’s astonishing theory of relativity is highly counter-intuitive. For example, the theory indicates that time can pass at different rates in different reference frames. This certainly challenges common sense. The following germane statement is attributed to Einstein: Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by …
Monthly Archives: April 2014
A Professor Is One Who Talks in Someone Else’s Sleep
W. H. Auden? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The acclaimed poet W. H. Auden popularized one of the funniest definitions for an academic: A professor is one who talks in someone else’s sleep. Do you know whether Auden crafted this quip? Quote Investigator: There is substantive evidence that W. H. Auden did employ this joke …
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Sex Appeal Is 50 Per Cent What You’ve Got and 50 Per Cent What People Think You’ve Got
Sophia Loren? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I am trying to recall an observation made in the 1950s or 1960s by a great beauty. I do not remember the precise wording. The essence of the quotation was that her attractiveness was 50 percent actual and 50 percent projected by others. Would you please help me …
If We Are Here to Help Others, I Often Wonder What the Others Are Here For
W. H. Auden? George Herbert Palmer? Young Boy? Thomas Robert Dewar? John Foster Hall? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Altruism is a cornerstone of many religions and philosophies. Here are two versions of a humorous comment on this topic: If we are here to help others, I often wonder what the others are here for. We …
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Alone We Can Do So Little. Together We Can Do So Much
Helen Keller? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A website on education policy began a recent article with a statement attributed to Helen Keller: Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. No citation was given. Would you please examine this saying? Quote Investigator: There is good evidence that Helen Keller did speak …
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Half of the Town Councilors Are Not Fools
Swedish Councilor? Benjamin Disraeli? Australian Alderman? Casey Motsisi? Dennis Skinner? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently on twitter I saw a joke about the limits placed on unparliamentary language in Britain. A photo depicted an unhappy contemporary politician in the House of Commons with a caption similar to the following: Politician: Half the members of the …
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Happiness Is A Butterfly, Which When Pursued, Seems Always Just Beyond Your Grasp
Nathaniel Hawthorne? Henry David Thoreau? L.? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: An ingenious and lovely simile about happiness is confusingly attributed to two prominent literary figures: Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau. Here are two versions: Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which, if you will sit …
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Anyone Who Doesn’t Take Truth Seriously in Small Matters Cannot Be Trusted in Large Ones Either
Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: My University has an Academic Integrity Office which has launched a poster campaign that includes an image of Albert Einstein together with the following statement which has been ascribed to the brilliant physicist: Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted with large ones either. …
Repentance on a Sunday for What One Has Done on Saturday
Thomas R. Ybarra? Contributor to Life Magazine? Victor L. Berger? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Individuals who attend church services without sincerity have long been criticized with the following sardonic description: Those who repent on Sunday, For what they did on Saturday, And plan to do again on Monday. I have been unable to determine who …
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Do Not Be So Open-Minded That Your Brains Fall Out
Carl Sagan? Arthur Hays Sulzberger? Marianne Moore? E. E Cummings? William Allan Neilson? Walter Kotschnig? Samuel Butler? G. K. Chesterton? Max Radin? James Oberg? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a desirable balance between exploring novel ideas with an open mind and maintaining a healthy skepticism. The following humorous cautionary statement exemplifies the tension: Do …
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