Paul M. Mazur? Adam Curtis? Al Gore? Robert S. Lynd? Helen Merrell Lynd? Mark Frauenfelder? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Influential societal observers have long denounced cultures that emphasize consumption. The ever growing fabrication and usage of products forces individuals to scramble on a hedonic treadmill that is ultimately unsatisfying and pointless according to critics. …
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Quote Origin: If You Torture the Data Long Enough, It Will Confess
Ronald Coase? Irving John Good? Charles D. Hendrix? Robert W. Flower? Bulent Gultekin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Collecting and interpreting data is a delicate process that is subject to conscious and unconscious biases. The selective choice of inputs and statistical tests can yield results that are misleading. Here are two versions of a comical …
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Quote Origin: Nothing But Good Should Be Said of the Dead — He’s Dead. Good
Jackie ‘Moms’ Mabley? Bette Davis? Joan Crawford? Craig Russell? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Two stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age were combative rivals. When one died the other said something like the following: I was taught that you shouldn’t speak of the dead unless you have something good to say. Therefore, I will only say …
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Quote Origin: What Can Be Explained Is Not Poetry
William Butler Yeats? John Butler Yeats? Carl Sandburg? Ezra Pound? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A reader who requests clarification for a poem that is opaque is sometimes met with a rejoinder of this type: If the lines can be explained then the work is not poetry. This notion has been attributed to the Nobel …
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Quote Origin: I Thought the Brain Was the Most Important Organ Until I Realized What Was Telling Me That
Emo Philips? George Carlin? Richard Saul Wurman? Dale Dauten? Daniel C. Dennett? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent philosopher of consciousness and the brain included a hilarious joke in a recent book. Here are three versions: I used to think that the human brain was the most fascinating part of the body. Then I …
Quote Origin: There Is Nothing Quite So Tragic as a Young Cynic, Because It Means the Person Has Gone From Knowing Nothing To Believing Nothing
Maya Angelou? Bill Moyers? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The prominent memoirist and poet Maya Angelou suffered in her early life, but she did not become bitter. She believed that young cynics were tragic figures. Would you please help me to find her comment on this topic? Reply from Quote Investigator: This article mentions rape, …
Quote Origin: Man Is Ready To Die for an Idea, Provided That Idea Is Not Quite Clear To Him
Paul Eldridge? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The willingness to become a martyr in the service of a noble cause is often celebrated, but the U.S. novelist Paul Eldridge voiced a sardonic viewpoint. He suggested that an individual is willing to die for an elevated idea primarily because the idea is unclear. Would you please …
Quote Origin: Imagination Rules the World
Napoleon Bonaparte? Blaise Pascal? Emmanuel Comte de Las Cases? Hugh Henry Brackenridge? Irving Babbitt? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The French military and political leader Napoléon Bonaparte has received credit for a statement about vision. Here are two versions in English: Is this attribution genuine? Would you please help me to find a citation in …
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Quote Origin: Nobody Wants Constructive Criticism; It’s All We Can Do To Put Up with Constructive Praise
Mignon McLaughlin? Alan Sheldon? Stephen R. Covey? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Receiving criticism is painful even when it is described as constructive. The witty journalist Mignon McLaughlin made a germane comment on this theme. Would you please help me to find a citation. Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1960 the unnamed columnist of “Thoughts …
Quote Origin: The Only Beautiful Eyes Are Those That Look At Us Tenderly
Coco Chanel? Gabrielle Chanel? Pierre Reverdy? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The eyes of a lover gazing at you are beautiful. The fashion icon Coco Chanel (Gabrielle Chanel) said something germane: The only beautiful eyes are those that look at us tenderly. Would you please help me to find a citation for the original statement …
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