Henry Walker Hepner? Dorothy Dey? Ellen Seiter? Paddy Whannel? E. H. Jenkins? William James? Anonymous?
Question for Quote Investigator: Members of a profession often develop a specialized vocabulary or jargon to communicate effectively with one another. Yet, these words and phrases are unintelligible to others. Here is a pertinent quip about psychology:
A psychologist is someone who tells you something you already know in a language which you cannot understand.
Similar barbs have been aimed at sociology, semiotics, cultural studies, and behavioral science. Would you please explore the provenance of these remarks?
Reply from Quote Investigator: Tracing this family of jokes is difficult because the phrasing is highly variable. The earliest match located by QI appeared within the “Proceedings of the New York Farmers”. A meeting was held in New York City in February 1898. An unnamed farmer received credit for a version of the gibe aimed at the entire field of science:1
Years ago, after talking with a farmer—not a tobacco grower—regarding some reasons for thorough tillage, he paused in his work and remarked meditatively: “Science consists largely in telling people things which they already know, in a language which they cannot understand!”
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
In 1922 “The Yale Review” of New Haven, Connecticut printed a letter from E. H. Jenkins who criticized the domain of poetry with an instance of the saying:2
But why should one who suspects that he is a poet express himself publicly unless he has something worth expression which can be understood by the public? And why tell us things we already know in a language that we cannot understand? Self-expression is at times a great relief.
In 1930 Professor Harry Walker Hepner published “Psychology in Modern Business” which included an anonymous instance of the barb aimed at psychologists:3
On the other hand, many a business man will “turn up his nose” at the mention of psychology, “because,” he says, “the psychologists may have the theories but I have the facts and know how to apply them.” One wit expressed this in his definition, “A psychologist is a man who tells you what you already know in a language that you cannot understand.”
In October 1930 Hepner’s book was reviewed in the magazine “Credit Monthly”, and the joke was reprinted:4
“A psychologist” we used to be told, “is a man who tells you what you already know in a language that you cannot understand.” This definition, Professor Hepner maintains, is no longer applicable.
In 1931 high school teacher F. B. Ulmer spoke to a group of business and professional women in Tyler Texas, and he employed a variant of the expression:5
“The best way to learn psychology is through the study of biology, and the best way not to learn psychology is by studying books on that subject, for these books tell us what we already know in a language that we do not know.”
In 1935 newspaper columnist George T. Eager printed the quip which he attributed to an unnamed business man:6
Although a skeptical business man once described psychology as “a science which tells you what you already know in a language you can’t understand,” there has been in recent years a much closer working relationship between the scientist and the business man.
In 1939 Miami, Florida columnist Dorothy Dey used the joke:7
MY FRRANDS—AND YOU ARE my Frrands, if you are interested in knowing the definition of a psychologist—it’s a guy what tells you what you already know in a language you don’t understand.
In 1953 a newspaper in Alabama pointed the joke at highbrows:8
The silliness of intellectual superiority. A highbrow is said to be a person who is educated above his intelligence, and tells you things you already know in language that you cannot understand.
In 1979 the book “Team Development Manual” by Mike Woodcock included the following passage:9
It is said that a psychologist is someone who tells you something you already know in a language which you cannot understand. Inevitably in any trade or profession words are used which convey a great deal to those who regularly use them but are seen as ‘jargon’ or ‘unnecessarily technical’ by those who do not.
In 1980 “The Philadelphia Inquirer” printed an instance aimed at sociologists:10
Someone once defined a sociologist as a person who tells us what we already know in language that we cannot understand.
In 1987 the book “Channels of Discourse: Television and Contemporary Criticism” contained a chapter written by Ellen Seiter which included an instance aimed at semioticians:11
The late Paddy Whannel used to joke, “Semiotics tells us things we already know in a language we will never understand.” Learning the vocabulary of semiotics is certainly one of its most trying aspects. This vocabulary makes it possible, however, to identify and describe what makes TV distinctive as a communication medium, as well as how it relies on other sign systems to communicate.
In 1998 the journal “Cultural Studies” published an article by David Morley which contained the following passage:12
That is why, if cultural studies sometimes seems to ‘tell us things we already know in a language we can’t understand’—none the less, the redescription of the everyday world of culture in the language of systematic analysis is the necessary form of the ‘defamiliarization’ of the everyday which is essential to cultural studies work.
In 2017 Greenbook, a market research website, published a piece which attributed an instance to U.S. philosopher and psychologist William James who died in 1910:13
A quote attributed to William James goes, “Psychology is the study of the obvious. It tells us things we already know in a language we can’t understand.”
In 2023 Dave Trott posted the following x-tweet message:14
“Behavioural Science is telling us something we all know in a language we can’t understand” (Love it but can’t remember who said it)
In conclusion, all the early instances of this quip located by QI were attributed to anonymous individuals. The field of science was targeted in 1898, and poetry was the bullseye in 1922. Psychology became a popular focus of this humor by 1930.
Image Notes: Picture of a library in Stuttgart, Germany from Gabriel Sollmann at Unsplash. The image has been cropped.
Acknowledgement: Great thanks to Andrew Munro, Dave Trott, Chris Miller, Merryn, Aaron Keller, and others whose x-twitter thread led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Miller presented an attribution to William James.
- 1898, Proceedings of the New York Farmers, Season 1897/98, The “New York Farmers”, Start Page 37, Quote Page 49, Print John Ward, New York. (HathiTrust Full View) link ↩︎
- 1922 July, The Yale Review, Volume 11, Number 4, Section: Letters and Comment, (Letter from E. H. Jenkins about poetry), Yale Publishing Association, New Haven, Connecticut. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1930, Psychology in Modern Business by Harry Walker Hepner (Assistant Professor and Head of Business Psychology, Syracuse University), Chapter 1: The Psychological Problems of the Business Man, Quote Page 4, Prentice-Hall, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1930 October, Credit Monthly: The National Magazine of Business Fundamentals, Volume 32, Number 10, Section: The Business Library, This Month’s Business Book, (Review of Henry Walker Hepner’s “Psychology in Modern Business”), Quote Page 42, Column 2, National Association of Credit Men, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1931 November 13, Tyler Morning Telegraph, Prof. F.B. Ulmer Lectures On Psychology Before Meeting Of Women’s Study Group Here, Quote Page 6, Column 1, Tyler, Texas. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1935 June 4, The Daily Argus, Dollar Makers by George T. Eager, Quote Page 7, Column 2, Mount Vernon, New York. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1939 January 22, The Miami Herald, Night and Dey by Dorothy Dey, Quote Page 6E, Column 4, Miami, Florida. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1953 June 9, The Tuskegee Herald, The Mirror—An Honest Friend by William Crowe, Quote Page 6, Column 2, Tuskegee, Alabama. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1979 Copyright, Team Development Manual by Mike Woodcock, Section: Preface, Quote Page x, A Halsted Press Book: John Wiley & Sons, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1980 October 17, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Science still can’t put numbers on a star’s talent, a fan’s love by Thomas Ferrick Jr. (Inquirer Staff Writer), Quote Page 3C, Column 1, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1987 Copyright, Channels of Discourse: Television and Contemporary Criticism, Edited by Robert C. Allen, Chapter 1: Semiotics and Television by Ellen Seiter, Start Page 17, Quote Page 24, Methuen & Company, London. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1998 October, Cultural Studies: Theorizing Politics, Politicizing Theory, Volume 12, Number 4, Special Issue: The Institutionalization of Cultural Studies, Edited by Ted Striphas, So-Called Cultural Studies: Dead Ends and Reinvented Wheels by David Morley, Start Page 476, Quote Page 478, Routledge Journals, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. (Google Books Preview) ↩︎
- Website: Greenbook, Article title: PIG Is a Great Name for This Strategy, Article author: Steve Needel, Date on website: December 12, 2017, Website description: “Your Guide for All Things Market Research And Consumer Insights”. (Accessed greenbook.org on December 9, 2023) link ↩︎
- X-Tweet, From: dave trott @davetrott, Timestamp: 5:53 AM – Dec 6, 2023, Text: “Behavioural Science is telling us something …” (Accessed on twitter.com on December 9, 2023) link ↩︎