John von Neumann? R.L. Duffus? Albert Wohlstetter? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The remarkable recent advances in the field of artificial intelligence have produced feelings of excitement and foreboding. Power, hope, and danger are intertwined with technological discoveries. A famous scientist emphasized the inevitability of challenges: For progress there is no cure. Would you please explore …
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It’s Easier To Act Your Way Into a New Way of Thinking Than To Think Your Way Into a New Way of Acting
John S. White? F. J. Finch? Glenn Franc? E. Stanley Jones? Orval Hobart Mowrer? Harry Emerson Fosdick? J. P. Allen? Zig Ziglar? Bruce Norman? Susan Glaser? John C. Maxwell? Jerry Sternin? Millard Fuller? Dear Quote Investigator: In self-help and motivation books I’ve encountered the following saying: It is easier to act yourself into a new …
Not Everything That Is Faced Can Be Changed; But Nothing Can Be Changed Until It Is Faced
James Baldwin? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent writer James Baldwin crafted a brilliant two part statement about purposeful literature: Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced. The word “everything” was converted to its antonym “nothing” in the second part. Also, the key words “faced” …
A Place and Station To Which Our Tradition and Undying Genius Entitle Us
Winston Churchill? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Winston Churchill once spoke about the “undying genius” of his fellow citizens while exhorting them to make a “supreme effort” to maintain a successful country. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: In 1952 Winston Churchill visited his alma mater, the Harrow School in London, …
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One Idiot Is One Idiot. Two Idiots Are Two Idiots. Ten Thousand Idiots Are a Political Party
Franz Kafka? Leo Longanesi? Robert Browning? Jean Anouilh? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A derisive remark aimed at politically motivated groups of people has been attributed to the influential short-story writer Franz Kafka. Here is the German version followed by an English translation: Ein Idiot ist ein Idiot. Zwei Idioten sind zwei Idioten. Zehntausend Idioten sind …
In the Middle of Difficulty Lies Opportunity
Albert Einstein? John Archibald Wheeler? A. P. Barton? Bertram Carr? Mirjana R. Gearhart? H. Jackson Brown Jr.? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Everyone experiences challenges and difficulties. Happily, while surmounting these obstacles it is often possible to glimpse wonderful possibilities for the future. Here is a pertinent saying: In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. This …
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Be Alone, That Is the Secret of Invention; Be Alone, That Is When Ideas Are Born
Nikola Tesla? Orrin E. Dunlap Jr.? Thomas P. Hughes? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous inventor and futurist Nikola Tesla apparently said the following: Be alone, that is the secret of invention. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: In 1934 Nikola Tesla was interviewed in “The New York Times” by …
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Plenty of Hope; Infinite Hope; Just Not for Us
Franz Kafka? Max Brod? Jonathan Franzen? Josef Paul Hodin? Georg Lukács? Harold Bloom? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: In 2019 acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen wrote an essay in “The New Yorker” that began with the following remark of despair attributed to the influential Prague-born writer Franz Kafka. There is infinite hope; only not for us. Here …
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Brother, Can You Paradigm?
William Safire? Marie Shear? Cornell Daily Sun? Walter Gieber? Inis L. Claude Jr.? Ben Yagoda? Jack L. Walker? John Leonard? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A U.S. song that was popular during the Great Depression era depicted an impoverished person making a plaintive request: Brother, can you spare a dime? This song title inspired the creation …
A Theory Is Not Complete Until You Can Explain It To the Person in the Street
David Hilbert? Mary Winston Newson? Adolphe Quetelet? Joseph Diez Gergonne? Michel Chasles? William Spottiswoode? Henry John Stephen Smith? G. Carey Foster? Alphonse Rebière? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: In 1900 the influential German mathematician David Hilbert addressed the “International Congress of Mathematicians” held in Paris. He presented a collection of unsolved problems which has had an …
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