Tracing Quotations
John Locke? Lu Xun? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement appears on many websites: As people are walking all the time, in the same spot, a path appears. The words are usually attributed to the English philosopher John Locke or the Chinese writer Lu Xun. I have been unable to find a citation. …
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Tallulah Bankhead? Lillian Hellman? Dashiell Hammett? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The most obtuse quotation I know of was uttered by the actress Tallulah Bankhead whose erratic behavior caused Dashiell Hammett, the well-known author of popular detective novels, to complain about her drug use. Bankhead reportedly defended herself with the following parodic remark: I tell …
Arthur Schopenhauer? Albert Szent-Györgyi? Erwin Schrödinger? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a brilliant remark about scientific, artistic, and intellectual progress. Here are four versions: Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and think what nobody has thought. Genius is seeing what everyone else sees and thinking what no one else has …
Thomas Edison? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Thomas Edison and his laboratory researchers helped to develop a wide range of important inventions. Apparently, he was once asked to name his favorite invention, and he replied with a statement similar to the following: Of all my inventions, I liked the phonograph best. I have not been …
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