Lord Palmerston? George Peacocke? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: There is an anecdote about a fiendishly complex diplomatic agreement. Negotiating, signing, and comprehending the pact had sent one person to the grave, sent a second to a lunatic asylum, and left a third with memory loss. Are you familiar with this tale? Quote Investigator: This story …
Monthly Archives: December 2017
In God We Trust; Others Must Provide Data
W. Edwards Deming? Edwin R. Fisher? Bernard Fisher? Cecil R. Reynolds? Brian L. Joiner? Ronald D. Snee? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Would you please examine a humorous empirically-minded statement that expands upon a famous motto appearing on U.S. currency. Here are three versions: In God we trust; all others must use data. In God we …
Continue reading “In God We Trust; Others Must Provide Data”
The Plural of Anecdote Is Not Data
Kenneth Kernaghan? P.K. Kuruvilla? Paul Samuelson? Edith Greene? Irwin S. Bernstein? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Each datum in a collection of data may be considered a story. Yet, it is often difficult to make rigorous conclusions based on a motley collection of anecdotes. Scientific data should be collected in a methodical manner according to a …
The Plural of Anecdote is Data
Raymond Wolfinger? Roger G. Noll? Richard F. Fenno Jr.? Daniel Patrick Moynihan? George Stigler? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: An anecdote is a single fact or datum. When many of these facts are combined the collection is naturally called data. Apparently, a social scientist coined the following saying: The plural of anecdote is data. Would you …
There Is Nothing Sadder in This World Than To Awake Christmas Morning and Not Be a Child
Erma Bombeck? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The popular humorist Erma Bombeck once wrote about the melancholy feelings of some Christmas celebrants when they leave childhood behind. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: In 1967 Erma Bombeck wrote the following in her syndicated column, Emphasis added to excerpts:[1]1967 December 22, Courier-Post, …
Observe the Postage Stamp—Its Usefulness Depends Upon Its Ability to Stick to One Thing Till It Gets There
Josh Billings? Elmira Gazette? Charles Frohman? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Soon people will be making resolutions for the New Year. The popular U.S. humorist Josh Billings reportedly made an apropos remark about steadfastness. Here are two versions: Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there. A postage stamp is a …
The Place Where Your Talent Meets the World’s Needs Is the Job God Has in Mind for You
Aristotle? Marcus Bach? Albert Schweitzer? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Did the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle secretly work at a job placement agency? Probably not, but a popular family of sayings about career choice has been attributed to him. Here are three examples: Where your talents and the world’s needs cross, there lies your calling. When …
Diplomacy Frequently Consists in Soothingly Saying “Nice Doggie” Until You Have a Chance to Pick Up a Rock
Will Rogers? Walter Trumbull? Franklin Rodman? Frances Rodman? Robert Phelps? Wynn Catlin? Harold Winkler? Robert Phelps? Dear Quote Investigator: The reassuring words of a diplomat may sharply diverge from the true agenda of the envoy. The following metaphor depicts hidden hostility: Diplomacy is the art of being able to say “nice doggie” until you have …
Liberty Don’t Work as Good in Practice as It Does in Speech
Will Rogers? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The popular American humorist Will Rogers once made a memorable remark about liberty. Unfortunately, the precise phrasing was not memorable enough. Here are several versions: Liberty don’t work as good in practice as in speech. Liberty don’t work as good in practice as it does in speech. Liberty don’t …
Continue reading “Liberty Don’t Work as Good in Practice as It Does in Speech”
Plays Are Not Written—They Are Rewritten
Steele MacKaye? Dion Boucicault? W. S. Gilbert? Sanford B. Hooker? David Belasco? Daniel Frohman? William M. Tanner? Walter Winchell? James Thurber? Michael Crichton? Dear Quote Investigator: A magnificent work of art emerges in its final form like Venus from a scallop shell; no modifications are required according to one unrealistic approach to creativity. Numerous writers …