William Faulkner? Stephen King? R. M. Allen? Lavon Rascoe? Lauren Passell? Ben Yagoda? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent novelist was once asked for advice by an aspiring author. The scribe offered the following crucial guidance: Read, read, read. Read everything. Highbrow, middlebrow, and lowbrow material were all deemed acceptable choices for scrutiny. Would …
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Quote Origin: This Is Only a Work of Fiction. The Truth, As Always, Will Be Far Stranger
Arthur C. Clarke? Stanley Kubrick? Mark Twain? J. B. S. Haldane? Question for Quote Investigator: Rapid computer hardware and software developments combined with extreme speculations about a technological singularity have led some science fiction writers to complain that envisioning the future has become too difficult. I am reminded of the following disclaimer for a novel: …
Joke Origin: A Clear Conscience Is Usually a Sign of a Bad Memory
Mark Twain? Steven Wright? Senator Sorghum? Philander Chase Johnson? Neal O’Hara? Felix Nieto del Rio? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A morally upright individual strives to maintain a clear conscience. Yet, satisfying this goal is not always praiseworthy: Often a person with a clear conscience merely has a poor memory. This quip has been credited …
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Joke Origin: To Double Your Money You Should Simply Fold Your Bills and Put Them in Your Pocket
Kin Hubbard? Will Rogers? Elbert Hubbard? Abe Martin? Max Eastman? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Proselytizers for get-rich-quick schemes are ubiquitous online. A popular joke describes a comically easy way to obtain illusory wealth. Here are two versions: (1) To get rich you should convert your money to bills. Next, you should fold the bills, …
Quote Origin: A Mistake Is Just Another Way of Doing Things
Katharine Graham? Warren Bennis? Chris Hildyard? E. B. White? Luc de Clapiers? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Making mistakes in life is inevitable. Thus, learning to respond resiliently to setbacks is essential. A healthy perspective is presented by the following adage: A mistake is just another way of doing things. This statement has been credited …
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Quote Origin: If You Are Curious, You Will Find the Puzzles Around You. If You Are Determined, You Will Solve Them
Erno Rubik? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Hungarian architect Ernő Rubik is famous for creating the ingenious Rubik’s Cube puzzle. Apparently, he said something about finding puzzles all around us. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 2020 Ernő Rubik published a biographical book about his experiences making …
Joke Origin: “This Place Would Be Much Better If We Had Plenty of Water and Good Society” “So Would Hades”
Joke Creator: Benjamin Wade? Charles H. Hoyt? William D. Kelley? Anonymous? Location: Central Pacific Railroad? Great American Desert? Great Plains? Nevada? Wyoming? Nebraska? Montana? North Carolina? Texas? Unknown? Question for Quote Investigator: A traveler who was visiting an arid and desolate place asked a resident for his opinion of the location. The resident was enthusiastic, …
Quote Origin: The Philosophy of Science Is As Useful To Scientists As Ornithology Is To Birds
Richard Feynman? Steven Weinberg? Barnett Newman? John D. Barrow? Philip Kitcher? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The philosophy of science critically examines the foundations and methods of empiricism. Practitioners of science are sometimes indifferent or hostile to this analysis. Apparently, a scientist once presented the following derisive analogy: The philosophy of science is as …
Quote Origin: Aesthetics Is for the Artists Like Ornithology Is for the Birds
Barnett Newman? Frederic James? Ad Reinhardt? Dorothy Gees Seckler? Jonathan Williams? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Art critics and historians have invented and propounded recondite theories of aesthetics. Yet, the motivations and inspirations of influential artists are detached from these abstruse theories. Apparently, a painter once presented the following sardonic analogy: Aesthetics is for the …
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Quote Origin: Death Plucks My Ear and Says “Live, for I Am Coming”
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.? Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.? Virgil? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The personification of Death has been employed in artworks to highlight mortality. We must attempt to achieve a full and worthwhile life during our brief period passing through this earthly realm. Here is a pertinent quotation: Death plucks my ear …
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