Quote Origin: The Trees Voted for the Axe Because the Axe Handle Was Made of Wood

Hebrew Proverb? Turkish Proverb? Kimberly Joyce Pollock? Wafula Chebukati? Anonymous?

Picture of an axe buried in a tree truck from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: A popular allegory suggests that people are unable to distinguish between allies and adversaries:

The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe. The axe was clever and convinced the trees that since his handle was made of wood, he was one of them.

Would you please explore the provenance of this tale.

Reply from Quote Investigator: This metaphorical framework has a long history. A pertinent proverb was circulating in the 17th century. The Reverend J. Ray published “A Collection of English Proverbs” in 1678 in Cambridge, England. A section of Hebrew proverbs titled “Adagia Hebraica” contained the following, Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

The axe goes to the wood, from whence it borrowed its helve

The “helve” is the handle. This saying criticizes individuals who injure their own people or who injure those who have given them power.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

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Quote Origin: To Stand Up For the Truth Is Nothing! For Truth You Have To Sit In Jail!

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn? Anatoly Ilyich Fastenko? Alexander Pushkin? Apocryphal?

Picture of barbed wire together with a daisy from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: A political activist once indicated that standing up for the truth was nothing, whereas sitting in jail for the truth reflected genuine commitment. I do not recall the precise phrasing.

This notion has been attributed to Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, but I have been unable to find a citation. Would you please help me?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The English edition of “The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: An Experiment in Literary Investigation” by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was published in 1974. Solzhenitsyn presented a portrait of the prison system of the Soviet Union. Solzhenitsyn described the viewpoint of his fellow prisoner Anatoly Ilyich Fastenko. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

Fastenko, on the other hand, was the most cheerful person in the cell, even though, in view of his age, he was the only one who could not count on surviving and returning to freedom.

Flinging an arm around my shoulders, he would say:

To stand up for the truth is nothing!
For truth you have to sit in jail!

Or else he taught me to sing this song from Tsarist hard-labor days:

And if we have to perish
In mines and prisons wet,
Our cause will ever find renown
In future generations yet.

And I believe this! May these pages help his faith come true!

Thus, Solzhenitsyn helped to popularize this saying, but it was spoken by Fastenko who had been imprisoned by the Tsar’s police and later by the communists.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

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Quote Origin: People Will Only Work Fifteen Hours a Week In the Future

John Maynard Keynes? Bertrand Russell? Herman Kahn? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: The ongoing developments in artificial intelligence and robotics remind me of a remark attributed to the famous English economist John Maynard Keynes. Apparently, he predicted that technological advancements would allow society to adapt a fifteen-hour work week. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Quote Investigator: In 1930 John Maynard Keynes published an essay titled “Economic Possibilities for our Grandchildren” in “The Nation and Athenaeum”. He predicted a massive increase in the standard of living during the upcoming century due to progress in science and engineering:1

I would predict that the standard of life in progressive countries one hundred years hence will be between four and eight times as high as it is to-day.

Keynes believed that society would decrease the length of the average work week in response to these advances. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:2

For many ages to come the old Adam will be so strong in us that everybody will need to do some work if he is to be contented. We shall do more things for ourselves than is usual with the rich to-day, only too glad to have small duties and tasks and routines. But beyond this, we shall endeavour to spread the bread thin on the butter—to make what work there is still to be done to be as widely shared as possible.

Three-hour shifts or a fifteen-hour week may put off the problem for a great while. For three hours a day is quite enough to satisfy the old Adam in most of us!

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

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Quote Origin: It Takes Twenty Years To Become an Overnight Success

Eddie Cantor? Hedda Hopper? Milton Berle? Johnny Desmond? Army Archerd? Anonymous?

A view of the hollywood sign from atop a hill.
Picture of the famous Hollywood sign from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: Years of hard work performed in obscurity are usually required before achieving fame. A humorously contradictory saying reflects this viewpoint. Here are three versions:

(1) It took me five years to become an overnight success.
(2) It took her ten years to become an overnight sensation.
(3) It takes twenty years to make an overnight success

This saying has been attributed to U.S. comedian Eddie Cantor and U.S. newspaper columnist Hedda Hopper. Yet, I have not been able to find a solid citation. Would you please explore the provenance of this remark?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest strong match located by QI appeared in the gossip column of Hedda Hopper in November 1945. Hopper specified an anonymous attribution. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

Who was it said Hollywood is the place where it takes five years to become an overnight success?

Hedda Hopper was a significant popularizer of this comical saying, but the creator remains unknown. Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

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Quote Origin: Even If You Are On the Right Track You Will Get Run Over If You Just Sit There

Mark Twain? Will Rogers? Tom Sims? Arthur Godfrey? Anonymous?

A path through the woods is shown with trees.
Picture of tree-lined pathway from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: You must stay active and alert to have a fulfilling life. Two famous U.S. humorists, Mark Twain and Will Rogers, have been credited with the following remark:

Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.

Yet, I have been unable to find any solid citations pointing to either Twain or Rogers. Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence supporting the attributions to Mark Twain and Will Rogers. The earliest citations which credit them appeared many years after their deaths.

The earliest match found by QI occurred in March 1925 within a syndicated column titled “Tom Sims Says” which  was printed in newspapers such as “The Sheboygan Press” of Wisconsin1 and “The Indianapolis Times” of Indiana.2 The column contained miscellaneous jokes and observations. Here were three items. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:

The straight and narrow path is plenty wide for its traffic.

Even if you are on the right track you will get run over if you just sit there.

Love is blind. But there is always some friend who thinks he is an eye doctor.

Based on this evidence QI believes Tom Sims is the most likely creator of this quip.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

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Quote Origin: The Most Common Form of Despair Is Not Being Who You Are

Soren Kierkegaard? Carl Rogers? John Rowan? Howard Sasportas? Walter Lowrie? Anonymous?

A woman is standing in front of an image.
Illustration representing confusion about self-identity from Pixabay

Question for Quote Investigator: Unhappy people often feel compelled to wear a social mask and to live inauthentic lives. Danish theologian and existentialist philosopher Soren Kierkegaard has been credited with the following remark:

The most common form of despair is not being who you are.

I have been unable to find a citation and have become skeptical of this attribution. Would you please explore the provenance of this statement?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI believes that this statement evolved over time from passages written by Soren Kierkegaard in his 1849 book “Sygdommen til Doden” (“The Sickness unto Death”). An English translation by Walter Lowrie was published in 1941. Kierkegaard discussed despair extensively in the book. The following sentences contained the central idea of the quotation although the expression was somewhat convoluted. Boldface added to excerpt s by QI:1

A despairing man wants despairingly to be himself. But if he despairingly wants to be himself, he will not want to get rid of himself. Yes, so it seems; but if one inspects more closely, one perceives that after all the contradiction is the same. That self which he despairingly wills to be is a self which he is not (for to will to be that self which one truly is, is indeed the opposite of despair); what he really wills is to tear his self away from the Power which constituted it.

The central idea was also expressed in the following passage:2

This form of despair is: in despair at not willing to be oneself; or still lower, in despair at not willing to be a self; or lowest of all, in despair at willing to be another than himself.

In 1956 the influential U.S. psychologist Carl Rogers published an article in the journal “Pastoral Psychology”. Rogers wrote a paraphrase of the viewpoint expressed by Soren Kierkegaard:3

In this connection I have been astonished to find how accurately the Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, pictured the dilemma of the individual more than a century ago, with keen psychological insight. He points out that the most common despair is to be in despair at not choosing, or willing, to be one’s self; but that the deepest form of despair is to choose “to be another than himself.” On the other hand “to will to be that self which one truly is, is indeed the opposite of despair,” and this choice is the deepest responsibility of man.

This text was further paraphrased to yield the popular modern expression as indicated further below.

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Quote Origin: You’re an Idiot If You’re Not Writing for the AIs

Tyler Cowen? Dwarkesh Patel? Apocryphal?

Two robots are sitting at a table reading.
Public domain image of two robots reading

Question for Quote Investigator: Several newspapers including “The New York Times”, “The Chicago Tribune”, and “The Orlando Sentinel” have sued OpenAI and Microsoft. The newspapers have claimed that the companies trained their artificial intelligence (AI) systems on millions of copyrighted articles without permission.1

This protectiveness is understandable, but the influential economist Tyler Cowen has expressed a provocative counterpoint. Apparently, Cowen said the following:

You’re an idiot if you’re not writing for the AIs.

Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Podcaster Dwarkesh Patel interviewed Professor of Economics Tyler Cowen of George Mason University in October 2024. The video was uploaded to YouTube in January 2025. Patel mentioned that he had used the Claude AI system to help him prepare for the interview. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:2

Dwarkesh Patel: When I was preparing to interview you, I asked Claude to take your persona, and compared to other people I tried this with, it actually works really well with you.

Tyler Cowen: Because I’ve written a lot on the internet. 

Dwarkesh Patel: Yeah. That’s why.

Tyler Cowen: This is my immortality, right?

Dwarkesh Patel: That’s right.

Thus, Cowen suggested that the processing of written words by an AI system provides a type of enduring cybernetic life. Later in the interview he said the following:3

Tyler Cowen: No one is writing or recording for the AIs very much. But if you believe even a modest version of this progress. Like I’m modest in what I believe relative to you and many of you. You should be doing this. You’re an idiot if you’re not writing for the AIs. They’re a big part of your audience, and their purchasing power, we’ll see but, over time it will accumulate.

In conclusion, Tyler Cowen deserves credit for this quotation which he spoke during an interview with Dwarkesh Patel in October 2024.

Image Notes: Public domain fanciful picture of two robots reading.

  1. 2024 April 30, The New York Times (Online), 8 Daily Newspapers Sue OpenAI and Microsoft Over A.I. by Katie Robertson, New York, New York. (ProQuest) link ↩︎
  2. YouTube video, Title: Tyler Cowen – The #1 Bottleneck to AI Progress is Humans, Uploaded on January 9, 2025, Uploaded by: Dwarkesh Patel, (Quotation starts at 34 minutes 45 seconds of 60 minutes 33 seconds) (Accessed on youtube.com on January 22, 2025) link ↩︎
  3. YouTube video, Title: Tyler Cowen – The #1 Bottleneck to AI Progress is Humans, Uploaded on January 9, 2025, Uploaded by: Dwarkesh Patel, (Quotation starts at 35 minutes 50 seconds of 60 minutes 33 seconds) (Accessed on youtube.com on January 22, 2025) link ↩︎

Quote Origin: Keep Your Eye On the Doughnut, Not the Hole

David Lynch? Margaret Atwood? Jacob Riis? Grant E. Hamilton? Wendy Wasserstein? Anonymous?

A black and white drawing of people standing around a giant donut.
1908 cartoon by Grant E. Hamilton from Judge magazine

Question for Quote Investigator: The following saying encourages an optimistic focus on what matters in life:

Keep your eye on the doughnut, not the hole.

The influential U.S. movie director David Lynch and the prominent Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood have both employed this expression, but I think it predates them. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1999 “The Toronto Star” published an interview with David Lynch during which he spoke a version of the saying. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

“You have to fall in love and do what you love and then take what comes after that, which you can’t control anyway.

“That way, if things don’t work out after, you at least feel you’ve been true to yourself. Keep your eye on the doughnut, rather than the hole.

The saying has a long history, and the phrasing has evolved over time.

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Quote Origin: Accept the Children the Way We Accept Trees—With Gratitude … You Don’t Expect Trees To Change, You Love Them As They Are

Isabel Allende? Apocryphal?

A tree with leaves on it's branches in the fall.
Tree with Autumn leaves from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: Children are independent beings who cannot be rigidly controlled by the expectations and desires of parents. Children need unconditional love. The prominent Chilean-American writer Isabel Allende once made this point while comparing children with trees. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 2008 Isabel Allende published the memoir “La Suma de Los Di­as” (“The Sum of Our Days”) which contained the following passage. Translated from the Spanish by Margaret Sayers Peden. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

In passing, I gave her a bit of advice that had I put in practice myself would have saved a fortune in therapists: Accept the children the way we accept trees – with gratitude, because they are a blessing – but do not have expectations or desires. You don’t expect trees to change, you love them as they are.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

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Quote Origin: At Long Last, We Have Created the Torment Nexus from Classic Sci-Fi Novel: Don’t Create The Torment Nexus

Alex Blechman? Ray Bradbury? Neal Stephenson? Mark Zuckerberg? Abe Murray? Anonymous?

A person holding onto a glass ball
Depiction of a mysterious crystal sphere from Unsplash.

Question for Quote Investigator:  Science fiction is filled with cautionary fables and dystopian visions such as the murderous HAL 9000 computer of the movie “2001”, the relentless T-800 robot of the movie “The Terminator”, the disorienting cyberspace of the short story “Burning Chrome” by William Gibson, and the frenetic metaverse of the book “Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson. Oddly, the current generation of technologists seem intent on bringing these visions to life.

Apparently, a humorist once described a joyful technologist who was celebrating the creation of the “Torment Nexus” even though the “Torment Nexus” was originally the frightening subject of an alarming science fiction story. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: On November 28, 2021 writer Alex Blechman transmitted the following acerbic tweet. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1

Sci-Fi Author: In my book I invented the Torment Nexus as a cautionary tale

Tech Company: At long last, we have created the Torment Nexus from classic sci-fi novel Don’t Create The Torment Nexus

Alex Blechman’s profile on X-twitter stated the following as of January 2025:2

Writer, game designer x Staff Writer @TheOnion & @ClickHole Stuff for Jackbox Games, High On Life, Starship Troopers: TC, Saints Row, other places

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

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