Buckminster Fuller? Helen Hayes? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The full potential of a person or an idea is not visible in a nascent state. An ingenious analogy expresses this viewpoint: There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly. This remark has been attributed to the inventor and futurist …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Fashion Is Always a Reflection of the Time, But It Is Forgotten If It Is Foolish
Coco Chanel? Gabrielle Chanel? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: When a fashionable new item or design is created it is always embedded in its time period. The item is certain to lose favor eventually and become unfashionable. Yet, some fashions transcend and endure. These items can be revived and become fashionable again and again. The fashion …
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The Hurrier I Go, the Behinder I Get
Lewis Carroll? Charles L. Dodgson? Alice in Wonderland? White Rabbit? March Hare? Emmaleta Hicks? Gene Meihsner? Ed Sussdorff? Milton Berle? Truck Driver Named Bill? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a family of statements about the difficulty of keeping up with a heavy workload. Here are four instances: The harder I work, the behinder I …
Any Activity Becomes Creative When the Doer Cares About Doing It Right Or Better
John Updike? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Exalted activities such as composing a symphony or devising an invention clearly enable the maker to express creativity. Refreshingly, the prominent writer John Updike contended that even quotidian activities allowed for creativity if the doer cared enough to excel. Would you please help me to find a citation? Quote …
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Computer Science Is Not About Computers, Any More Than Astronomy Is About Telescopes
Edsger W. Dijkstra? Alan Perlis? Jacques Arsac? George Johnson? Donald Knuth? Matthew Dennis Haines? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Computers are the fundamental tool employed within the field of computer science; however, the discipline transcends this tool. Here are three attempts to articulate this viewpoint: Computer science is no more about computers than astronomy is about …
No One On His Deathbed Ever Said, ‘I Wish I Had Spent More Time On My Business’
Paul Tsongas? Harold Kushner? Arnold Zack? Barbara Mackoff? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: When an individual is lying on a deathbed and contemplating mortality the need to ascribe a transcendent meaning and purpose to life often becomes paramount. Deep bonds of love, caring, and friendship are highlighted. The workaday world recedes in importance. Here are four …
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We Look Into Mirrors But We Only See the Effects of Our Times On Us—Not Our Effect On Others
Pearl Bailey? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: When you look into a mirror your self-image may be altered, but you are not forced to see yourself objectively. You do not perceive yourself through the eyes of others, and you do not really understand your effect on others. The U.S. actress and singer Pearl Bailey once said …
Quote Origin: The Best Swordsman in the World Doesn’t Need To Fear the Second Best Swordsman
Mark Twain? David Weber? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Achieving expert knowledge and abilities in a domain may require many years of hard work. Yet, expertise does not guarantee success. Here is a counterintuitive adage: The best swordsman does not fear the second best. He fears the worst since there’s no telling what that idiot …
In Science We Should Be Interested In Things, Not Persons
Marie Curie? Pierre Curie? Ève Curie? Marie Mattingly Meloney? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Gossip about people is extraordinarily popular. A famous scientist once criticized this attitude as follows: In science, we must be interested in things, not in persons. This statement has been attributed three members of a renowned French family: Marie Curie, Pierre Curie, …
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All the Love Scenes Had Been Shot Like Murder Scenes, and All the Murder Scenes Like Love Scenes
Alfred Hitchcock? François Truffaut? Grace Kelly? Sam Mendes? Dear Quote Investigator: Director Alfred Hitchcock was a master of suspense and horror. For decades his filmmaking techniques have been closely studied by other directors, screenwriters, and critics. One observer uncovered a disquieting connection between Hitchcock’s portrayal of homicide and intimacy: The murder scenes are filmed like …