Alan Turing? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The best way to learn computer programming is by seeing examples, writing code, and executing programs. Trying to learn solely through a book is quite difficult. This viewpoint has been credited to the pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing. I am uncertain about this attribution because Turing died in 1954, …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Dear Sir (Or Madam), You May Be Right
H. L. Mencken? Jack Dempsey? Peg Bracken? Bennett Cerf? Alexander Woollcott? Stewart Holbrook? William Safire? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Forceful newspaper columnists often receive opinionated and hostile responses. There is a powerful temptation to send a sharp retort. Yet, one famous journalist typically replied with a brief disarming note: Dear Sir (or Madam ), You …
I’m Supposed To Write Fantasy Worlds, Not Live In Them
Brandon Sanderson? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: An acclaimed fantasy and science fiction author recently raised an enormous amount of money via a crowdfunding platform. In response to this record-breaking success, the author humorously referred to living in a fantasy world. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote Investigator: U.S. fantasy author Brandon …
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I Have Seen So Many Extraordinary Things, That There Is Nothing Extraordinary To Me Now
Voltaire? Lewis Carroll? George Sand? François-Marie Arouet? C. L. Dodgson? Aurore Dupin Dudevant? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following remark perfectly encapsulates a world-weary perspective: I have seen so many extraordinary things, nothing seems extraordinary any more. This expression has been attributed to three people who employed pseudonyms: witty philosopher Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet), fantasy author …
Find the Good and Praise It
Alex Haley? Madison Babcock? William Paton Ker? Charles W. Leadbeater? Jesse Owens? Nathan Rotenstreich? Ovid? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Cynicism and pessimism are commonplace. Yet, an alternative optimistic attitude has been expressed with the following saying: Find the good and praise it. This precept has been attributed to bestselling U.S. author Alex Haley and others. …
If You Don’t Like Our Weather, Just Wait a Few Minutes
Mark Twain? Will Rogers? Ring Lardner? James A. Cruikshank? T. Morris Longstreth? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Two famous humorists, Mark Twain and Will Rogers, have each received credit for a statement about the variability of weather. Here are four instances: (1) If you don’t like our weather, wait a minute. (2) If you don’t like …
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A Person Might Drown While Attempting To Cross a Stream With an Average Depth of Six Inches
W. I. E. Gates? Edward Latham? Bihar Proverb? Washburn Hopkins? R. H. Halsey? Bolton Hall? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Statistical averages can be misleading. The maximum and minimum values are not specified when only an average is presented. Here are three versions of a pertinent adage: (1) A person can drown while crossing a stream …
The Radio Is a Distraction and Keeps You from Concentrating
Nikola Tesla? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The electrical engineer Nikola Tesla became famous via his inventions in the domains of alternating current and wireless communication. Apparently, he disliked broadcast radio programs. He considered radio to be a nuisance and a distraction which impeded his concentration. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote …
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Short Reviews: “Smile, Smile, Smile” “I Didn’t, I Didn’t, I Didn’t”
Clive Barnes? Richard Bentley? Charles Hayward? John Francis Hope? A. Walkely? Wolcott Gibbs? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: One-line theatrical reviews are simultaneously hilarious and unfairly dismissive. A grumpy critic who saw the Broadway show “Smile, Smile, Smile” responded with “I Didn’t, I Didn’t, I Didn’t”. Another disgruntled critic saw “A Terrible Night” and declared “Quite …
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Celebrity Is the Chastisement of Merit and the Punishment of Talent
Nicolas Chamfort? Emily Dickinson? Franz Liszt? Garrison Keillor? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The dark side of celebrity is now widely recognized. Celebrity worship encourages self-absorption, arrogance, and callousness while celebrity hatred causes denouncements, calumnies, and physical endangerment. The following saying has been attributed to the eighteenth century French epigrammatist Nicolas Chamfort and the nineteenth century …
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