Tracing Quotations
Mary Pettibone Poole? John Lennon? Randy Pausch? William Lundigan? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A clever saying states that experience in life is obtained indirectly. Here are two versions: (1) Experience is what you get while looking for something else.(2) Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want. This saying has …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Experience Is What You Get While Looking For Something Else”
Steven Tyler? Keble Howard? George E. Waring Jr.? Henry Stanley Haskins? Robert Heinlein? Lord Chesterfield? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following adage celebrates enthusiasm and exuberance: Anything worth doing is worth overdoing. This saying has been attributed to the rock star Steven Tyler and science fiction author Robert Heinlein. Would you please help me …
Continue reading “Adage Origin: Whatever Is Worth Doing Is Worth Overdoing”
Coco Chanel? Diana Vreeland? Francine du Plessix Gray? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Statements about stylish clothing and beautiful furnishings are often opaque. Here is an example: Elegance is refusal. This statement has been attributed to two prominent fashion mavens: Coco Chanel and Diana Vreeland. I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please …
Mark Twain? Will Rogers? Fred Dumont Smith? Arthur M. Pearson? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The quantity of real estate is limited by the surface area of our planet. A popular wag commented about this restricted supply. Here are three versions: (1) Buy land. They’re not making it anymore.(2) Buy land. God is not …
Continue reading “Quip Origin: Buy Land; They’re Not Making It Anymore”
Jack London? Charmian London? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The U.S. writer Jack London is best known for the novel “The Call of the Wild” and the short story “To Build a Fire”. Apparently, London adhered to a materialistic philosophy, and he was skeptical of an afterlife. When describing the end of life he used …
Mignon McLaughlin? William Butler Yeats? Bertrand Russell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The present state of the world might be best explained with the following acerbic remark: The know-nothings of the world are, regrettably, not the do-nothings. I am not sure of the original phrasing. Would you please help me to trace this saying and …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Know-Nothings Are, Unfortunately, Seldom the Do-Nothings”
John Pierpont Morgan? Elizabeth Cutter Morrow? Anne Morrow Lindbergh? Mary Roberts Rinehart? Art Arthur? O. O. McIntyre? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: An embarrassing incident occurred when a famous U.S. financier visited the home of a popular hostess. The financier had an obtrusive bulging nose, and the hostess had a young child who was inquisitive …
Continue reading “Anecdote Origin: Will You Have Sugar and Cream in Your Nose?”
Richard Feynman? Daniel Dennett? J. J. Hahn? ArthurBloch? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Here are two instances from a family of sayings about questions and answers: (1) Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned. (2) I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than …
Marcel Proust? Alexander Pope? Frederick A. Blossom? Sydney Schiff? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent literary figure disapproved of intellectual works filled with abstract discourse and archetypal characters. The critique was expressed as follows: A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left. This …
Andrej Karpathy? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) systems have dramatically improved in recent years. One important challenge for AI has been the synthesis of computer programs based on English language descriptions. Apparently, a prominent AI researcher said: The hottest new programming language is English Would you please help me …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Hottest New Programming Language Is English”