Tracing Quotations
Creator: Geoffrey Hinton, leading researcher in machine learning and artificial neural networks Context: In 2014 “Wired” magazine published a profile of Hinton titled “Meet the Man Google Hired to Make AI a Reality”. AI means artificial intelligence. The article discussed the recent sea change in AI research. The term “deep learning” refers to techniques using …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: We Ceased To Be the Lunatic Fringe. We’re Now the Lunatic Core”
Quotation 01: Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone opts for the latter. Quotation 02: Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof. Creator: John …
Dorothy Parker? Margaret Irwin? Kingsley Martin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The writers, artists, and intellectuals of the Bloomsbury Group formed complex and shifting intimate relationships. A wit once said: They lived in squares and loved in triangles. The geometric wordplay referred to the residences of the group. For example, Leonard and Virginia Woolf lived …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: All the Couples Were Triangles and Lived in Squares”
Creator: George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic Context: Shaw’s play “The Doctor’s Dilemma” was first staged in London in 1906. In 1911 Shaw published the text of drama together with a lengthy preface which included the following passage. Emphasis added: Attention and activity lead to mistakes as well as to successes; but a life …
Giovanni Ruffini? Mustafa Kemal Atatürk? Charles Wiseman? Edward Bulwer-Lytton? Emir Abdelkader? Henry Ward Beecher? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Being a teacher is wonderfully fulfilling, but it is also exhausting. The following astute simile reflects this tension: A teacher is like a candle that consumes itself to light the way for others. This saying has …
Quotation: “What do you call ‘genius’?” “Well, seeing things others don’t see. Or rather the invisible links between things.” Creator: Vladimir Nabokov, author of “Pale Fire”, “Lolita”, and “Speak, Memory” Context: The lines excerpted above show two characters talking from the 1974 novel “Look at the Harlequins!” by Nabokov. These two lines are often compressed …
Quotation: If anything can go wrong, fix it! (To hell with Murphy!) Creator: Peter H. Diamandis, founder and chairman of the X Prize Foundation; bestselling author; cofounder of Singularity University Context: In 2015 Diamandis published “Bold: How to Go Big, Create Wealth and Impact the World”. He described an episode that occurred shortly after he …
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Groucho Marx? John Stuart Mill? Joseph Addison? Thomas Stafford? Boyle Roche? Adam Neale? Samuel Goldwyn? Bill Nye? Question for Quote Investigator: Making sacrifices now for the people and environment of the future is difficult. This challenge has been encapsulated with a humorous remark. Here are two versions: Groucho Marx often receives credit for this quip, …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: What Has Posterity Ever Done for Us?”
Quotation: Always do what you are afraid to do. Popularizer: Ralph Waldo Emerson (He did not create the adage.) Context: In 1841 Emerson published the essay “Heroism”, and he recommended a simple maxim to readers for overcoming trepidation. Some fears are justified, and the guidance does not encourage foolish or self-destructive actions. Emerson disclaimed credit …
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Quotation: Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Shortly after, the human era will be ended. Creator: Vernor Vinge, prize-winning science fiction author; retired professor of computer science at San Diego State University Context: In 1993 NASA sponsored a symposium titled “Vision 21: Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in the …