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 …
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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 …
Quote Origin: Any Field That Had the Word “Science” in Its Name Was Guaranteed Thereby Not To Be a Science
Frank Harary? Gerald M. Weinberg? Marshall C. Yovits? Max Goldstein? Richard Feynman? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The participants in several fields of endeavor have selected names that include the word “science”, e.g., Political Science, Information Science, Military Science, Library Science, Domestic Science, and Computer Science. This motley collection inspired the following quip: Anything with …
Quote Origin: From the Sublime to the Ridiculous There Is But One Step
Napoleon Bonaparte? Thomas Paine? Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle? Thomas Warton? Pierre-Jacques Changeux? James Joyce? Mark Twain? Question for Quote Investigator: Aesthetic evaluations are sometimes complex and contradictory. A well-known saying reflects this unstable nature. Here are two versions: 1) The sublime is only a step removed from the ridiculous. 2) From the sublime to …
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Quote Origin: The Contending Lawyers Can Fight, Not for Justice, But to Win
Clarence Darrow? Miriam Gurko? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Clarence Darrow was a famous American lawyer with a sobering view of the justice system. The following words have been attributed to him: A courtroom is not a place where truth and innocence inevitably triumph; it is only an arena where contending lawyers fight, not for …
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