Bill Gates? Arthur C. Clarke? J. C. R. Licklider? Roy Amara? Alfred Mayo? George H. Heilmeier? Manfred Kochen? Raymond Kurzweil? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Predicting the technological future of mankind is enormously difficult. One recurring flaw in such projections has been identified. Here are three versions: We tend to overestimate the effect of a …
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Dialogue Origin: “Are You Enjoying Yourself?” “Yes, But That’s the Only Thing I Am Enjoying”
Oscar Wilde? George Bernard Shaw? Ambrose Bierce? Charles Frederick Joy? Percival Christopher Wren? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: If you are attending a soporific party, and the host asks whether you are content you might reply with the following comically self-absorbed zinger attributed to the famous Irish wit Oscar Wilde: “Are you enjoying yourself, Mr. …
Quote Origin: I Traveled Fifty Miles To See Your Bust Unveiled. . . .
Winston Churchill? Hugh Hampton Young? Bennett Cerf? John Barrymore? Jacob Potofsky? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: According to a bawdy anecdote, British statesman Winston Churchill once attended a ceremony during which a sculpture of his likeness was unveiled. A beautiful woman approached him, and their provocative exchange included a pun on the word “bust”. Would …
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Quote Origin: Your Assumptions Are Your Windows On the World. Scrub Them Off Every Once In a While, Or the Light Won’t Come In
Isaac Asimov? Alan Alda? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The assumptions we make about the world transform the way we perceive it; hence, we should periodically challenge our own assumptions. A quotation that makes this point and uses windows metaphorically was crafted by either science fiction writer Isaac Asimov or actor Alan Alda. Would you …
Quote Origin: The Universe Is Not Only Queerer Than We Suppose, But Queerer Than We Can Suppose
Arthur Eddington? J. B. S. Haldane? Werner Heisenberg? Arthur C. Clarke? Stanley Kubrick? J. B. Priestly Question for Quote Investigator: The physics of quantum mechanics, relativity theory, and string theory are mind-bending. Scientists have made remarkable strides in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries; yet, some believe that the progress will stop before the completion of …
Quote Origin: Make the Best Quality of Goods Possible at the Lowest Cost Possible, Paying the Highest Wages Possible
Henry Ford? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The business titan Henry Ford apparently said something like: The industrialist should endeavor to make the best quality goods and pay the highest wages possible. Would you please help me to find the precise phrasing and an accurate citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1933 Henry Ford was …
Quote Origin: Keep Your Eyes On the Stars, But Your Feet On the Ground
Theodore Roosevelt? Oscar Wilde? William Allen Harper? Ayn Rand? Casey Kasem? Question for Quote Investigator: High aspirations should be combined with a practical spirit to achieve greatness. This notion can be expressed with the following adage: Keep your eyes on the stars, but your feet on the ground. This statement has been attributed to U.S. …
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Quote Origin: Finish Every Day and Be Done With It. . . . Some Blunders and Absurdities No Doubt Crept In; Forget Them As Soon As You Can
Ralph Waldo Emerson? James Elliot Cabot? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Each day should be greeted with our optimism and aspirations. We should forgive ourselves for yesterday’s missteps. The transcendentalist philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson apparently made this point in a passage that begins with one of the following two phrases: Would you please help me …
Quote Origin: You’re Only As Good As Your Last Performance
James R. Quirk? Douglas Fairbanks? Walter Winchell? Louella Parsons? Barbara Stanwyck? Jack Osterman? Al Jolson? Walter Huston? Will Rogers? Hedda Hopper? Marie Dressler? Arthur Ashe? Laurence Olivier? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The popularity and power of an entertainer, top athlete, or financial whiz can ascend vertiginously, but it can also decline precipitously. A harshly pragmatic …
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Quote Origin: The Difficulty Is To Persuade the Human Race To Acquiesce in Its Own Survival
Bertrand Russell? George Orwell? Arthur Koestler? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Humanity faces many existential dangers: hydrogen bombs, bioweapons, asteroid impacts, nanoplagues, and artificial intelligence. Yet, most of these dangers were created by humankind, and all can be ameliorated by wise decisions. The British philosopher Bertrand Russell once said something like: The question is how …