Tracing Quotations
George Carlin? Elsie Robinson? Eddie Schwartz? Jan M. Carroll? Gordie Spear? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: When foolish people group together the results are often terrible. Here are two versions of a cautionary adage: (1) Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.(2) Never underestimate the power of stupid people in a large …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Never Underestimate the Power of Stupid People in Large Groups”
Hubert Dreyfus? Stuart Dreyfus? Gary Marcus? Dave Akin? Ernest Davis? Aesop? Question for Quote Investigator: Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have been remarkable, but detractors contend that current approaches are inadequate and progress will soon reach a plateau. Critics of AI research have used the following vivid analogy: You cannot reach the moon by …
Herbert A. Simon? Allen Newell? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: In the 1950s a pair of prominent researchers made several provocative predictions about artificial intelligence. The researchers believed that a computer program would become the world chess champion within a decade. They also believed that most psychological theories in the future would take the form …
H. L. Mencken? Alistair Cooke? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent journalist once celebrated the display of competence in any discipline from A to Z by saying something like the following: I admire and crave competence, just simple competence, in any field from adultery to zoology. The statement has been attributed to the famous …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Admire and Crave Competence In Any Field From Adultery to Zoology”
Michael Caine? Raymond Clapper? Stephen Tallents? Bing Crosby? Japanese Saying? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following memorable advice uses a vivid simile: Behave like a duck—keep calm and serene on the surface but paddle like crazy underneath. British actor Michael Caine has received credit for this saying. Would you please explore the provenance of …
Upton Sinclair? W. E. B. Du Bois? George Orwell? George Bernard Shaw? Ann Petry? Morris Edmund Speare? Richard Hunt? Ludwig Lewisohn? Edmund Wilson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Advocates often extoll their visions with strong-willed certainty. Insistent artists are accused of preaching and propagandizing. Yet, this criticism is sometimes provocatively embraced. Here are three assertions: …
Elbert Hubbard? Dale Carnegie? Julius Rosenwald? Robert M. Hutchins? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: In the early 1900s the slang expression “handed a lemon” emerged. It referred to experiencing a setback or failure. The term “lemon” meant something which was bad, undesirable, or sub-standard. A humorous expression evolved as a counterpoint. Here are two versions: …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: If Life Gives You Lemons, Make Lemonade”
John Steinbeck? Charley? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A U.S. novelist who won a Nobel Prize in Literature apparently once said that “dogs think humans are nuts”, and occasionally dogs display a look of “amazed contempt”. These thoughts have been attributed to John Steinbeck. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Basically Dogs Think Humans Are Nuts”
Elisabeth Woodbridge? Charlotte V. Gulick? Ranulph Fiennes? Alfred Wainwright? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: With the proper clothing a person is capable of adapting to almost any type of weather. Here is an adage reflecting this attitude: There is no bad weather, only bad clothing. Would you please explore the provenance of this saying? Reply …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: There Is No Bad Weather, Only Inappropriate Clothing”
John Ruskin? Ettrick Shepherd? Christopher North? John Wilson? Elisabeth Woodbridge? George Gissing? John Lubbock? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Cold, wet, and windy weather is often considered unsatisfactory, but several thinkers contend that there is no such thing as bad weather. All weather is pleasant when examined from the appropriate perspective. Precipitation and fluctuating temperatures …