Deirdre N. McCloskey? Eduardo Porter? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Their are always powerful reasons to be pessimistic. News headlines about brutal warfare, callous crime, and environmental degradation predominate on a continuous electronic scroll of doom. Yet, there are also reasons to be optimistic. The global rate of extreme poverty has declined and longevity has …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: Everything Is Connected To Everything Else
Barry Commoner? Gotthold Ephraim Lessing? Leonardo da Vinci? Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.? John Muir? Jean Piaget? Daniel Patrick Moynihan? Solomon Short? David Gerrold? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The universe reflects a pervasive interconnectedness. Here are two versions of a pertinent adage: Everything is connected to everything else.Everything connects to everything else. Ecological thinkers have …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Everything Is Connected To Everything Else”
Quote Origin: If My Mind Can Conceive It and My Heart Can Believe It, Then I Know I Can Achieve It
Jesse Jackson? Napoleon Hill? Muhammad Ali? Armand J. Gariepy? Ralph L. Berry? Tennyson Guyer? Orlando K. Fitzsimmons? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular collection of affirmations have been constructed with these three rhyming words: conceive, believe, and achieve. Here are three examples: (1) Achieve anything you can conceive and believe.(2) Whatever the mind can …
Quote Origin: What Man Can Conceive, Man Can Achieve
Robert Owen? Elbert Hubbard? Orlando K. Fitzsimmons? Sidney Abram Weltmer? O. A. Hawkins? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: An optimistic rhyming maxim highlights the enormous potential for positive accomplishments. Here are three versions: (1) What humanity can conceive, humanity can achieve.(2) What man can conceive, man can achieve(3) Man can achieve what man can conceive …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: What Man Can Conceive, Man Can Achieve”
Quote Origin: You Have Enemies? Good. That Means You’ve Stood Up For Something, Sometime In Your Life
Winston Churchill? Victor Hugo? Thomas Jefferson? Jules Sandeau? Charles Mackay? Elminster of Shadowdale? Ed Greenwood? William J. Robinson? Jim Bunning? Eminem? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: If you become prominent and influential then you will inevitably face detractors. If you take tough stances on major issues then you will encounter adversaries. The British statesman Winston …
Quote Origin: Never Blame the Booster for What the Sucker Does
Damon Runyon? W. C. Fields? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous Broadway show “Guys and Dolls” was based on stories and characters from the pen of journalist Damon Runyon. Apparently, he was once asked about his favorite motto, and he presented the following: Never blame the booster for what the sucker does. Would you …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Never Blame the Booster for What the Sucker Does”
Quote Origin: Programming Is a Skill Best Acquired by Practice and Example Rather Than From Books
Alan Turing? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: Dear Sir (Or Madam), You May Be Right
H. L. Mencken? Jack Dempsey? Peg Bracken? Bennett Cerf? Alexander Woollcott? Stewart Holbrook? William Safire? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Dear Sir (Or Madam), You May Be Right”
Quote Origin: I’m Supposed To Write Fantasy Worlds, Not Live In Them
Brandon Sanderson? Apocryphal? Question for 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? Reply from Quote Investigator: U.S. …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I’m Supposed To Write Fantasy Worlds, Not Live In Them”
Quote Origin: 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? Question for 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 …