Ralph Waldo Emerson? Harrison Emmerson? Harrington Emerson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: It is always possible to attempt to solve a problem by clumsily trying a variety of methods, but it is better to select an appropriate technique based on principled understanding. The following statement has been attributed to the famous philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson: …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: Truth Is Stranger than Fiction, But It Is Because Fiction Is Obliged to Stick to Possibilities; Truth Isn’t
Mark Twain? Lord Byron? G. K. Chesterton? Edward Bellamy? Humphrey Bogart? Leo Rosten? Tom Clancy? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a wonderful quotation by Mark Twain about the implausibility of truth versus fiction. Here are four versions: 1) Why shouldn’t truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense. 2) It’s …
Quote Origin: Better To Fail in Originality than To Succeed in Imitation
Herman Melville? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The major literary figure Herman Melville was famous for envisioning an archetypal beast and a fateful battle in “Moby-Dick; or, The Whale” published in 1851. Reportedly, Melville wrote an article that extolled creativity with the following assertion: It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in …
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Quote Origin: You Cannot Reason People Out of Something They Were Not Reasoned Into
Jonathan Swift? Fisher Ames? Lyman Beecher? Jonathan Farr? Samuel Hanson Cox? Sydney Smith? Sidney Smith? Ben Goldacre? Question for Quote Investigator: Jonathan Swift was a prominent literary figure who authored “Gulliver’s Travels” and “A Modest Proposal”. He has been credited with an elegant thought about the limitations of persuasion via logical argument: You cannot reason …
Quote Origin: As People Walk This Way Again and Again, a Path Appears
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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Quote Origin: Cocaine Isn’t Habit-Forming. I Should Know. I’ve Been Using It for Years
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 …
Quote Origin: Research Is to See What Everybody Else Has Seen and Think What Nobody Has Thought
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 …
Quote Origin: Greatest Invention? I Like the Phonograph Best
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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Quote Origin: Beyond the Very Extremity of Fatigue Distress
William James? Scott Jurek? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement about endurance is popular with long-distance runners and others who face demanding situations: Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because …
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Quote Origin: Life Is Like Riding a Bicycle. To Keep Your Balance You Must Keep Moving
Albert Einstein? Walter Isaacson? J. Benson Hamilton? Charles Haddon Spurgeon? Dorothy Tucker? William Whiting? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous physicist Albert Einstein reportedly used a wonderful simile that compared riding a bicycle with living successfully. Here are three versions: Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. People …