James Baldwin? Apocryphal? Question for 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” …
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Quote Origin: A Place and Station To Which Our Tradition and Undying Genius Entitle Us
Winston Churchill? Apocryphal? Question for 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? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1952 Winston Churchill visited his alma mater, the Harrow …
Quote Origin: 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? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: 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? Question for 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. …
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Quote Origin: 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? Question for 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? Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1934 Nikola Tesla was interviewed in “The New …
Quote Origin: Plenty of Hope; Infinite Hope; Just Not for Us
Franz Kafka? Max Brod? Jonathan Franzen? Josef Paul Hodin? Georg Lukács? Harold Bloom? Apocryphal? Question for 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. …
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Quote Origin: 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? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: 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? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: Life Is Not About Finding Yourself. Life Is About Creating Yourself
George Bernard Shaw? Mary McCarthy? Thomas Szasz? Sydney J. Harris? Helen A. De Rosis? Victoria Y. Pellegrino? Karen Horney? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: For decades pop-psychology has emphasized the task of “finding yourself”, i.e., identifying your deepest values, abilities, feelings, and desires. Yet, these qualities are not immutable. Instead, living fully means endlessly recreating …
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Quote Origin: I Have the Heart of a Small Boy
Stephen King? Robert Bloch? Bennett Cerf? Gahan Wilson? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous horror writer employed a comically gruesome paraprosdokian when discussing temperament. There are many phrasings for this quip. Here is one: I have the heart of a child. I keep it in a jar on my desk. This joke has been attributed …
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