Gerald Stanley Lee? F. W. Macdonald? Thomas Vezey Strong? Heywood Broun? Eugene O’Neill? Vincent Starrett? Florentine doorkeeper? Parisian Curator? Question for Quote Investigator: Critics and tastemakers have proclaimed that some paintings, books, and plays are masterpieces. Yet, the general populace is not always able to perceive the quality of these works. An anecdote set in …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
Quote Origin: Efficiency Is Concerned With Doing Things Right. Effectiveness Is Doing the Right Things
Peter Drucker? Elsie Robinson? Warren Bennis? Stephen R. Covey? Glenn J. Shanahan? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: In the domain of business and entrepreneurship two contrasting statements yield a crucial insight: The most successful organizations require both efficiency and effectiveness. Another version highlights the following two ideas: These notions have been attributed to the famous …
Quote Origin: You Can Never Be Too Rich or Too Thin
Babe Paley? Wallis Simpson? Suzy Knickerbocker? Mrs. J. Gordon Douglas Sr.? Gregg Moran? Truman Capote? Dorothy Parker? Joan Rivers? Zenith Carburetor? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Achieving wealth and a svelte body have become idealized goals in some cultural milieus. Here are three versions of a pertinent maxim: As knowledge of the eating disorders anorexia …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Can Never Be Too Rich or Too Thin”
Quote Origin: The Single-Frame Picture of a Caterpillar Does Not Foretell Its Transformation Into a Butterfly
Buckminster Fuller? Helen Hayes? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: Fashion Is Always a Reflection of the Time, But It Is Forgotten If It Is Foolish
Coco Chanel? Gabrielle Chanel? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: 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? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a family of statements about the difficulty of keeping up with a heavy workload. Here are four instances: This saying has often been credited …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Hurrier I Go, the Behinder I Get”
Quote Origin: Any Activity Becomes Creative When the Doer Cares About Doing It Right Or Better
John Updike? Apocryphal? Question for 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 Origin: 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? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: 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? Question for 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 …
Quote Origin: We Look Into Mirrors But We Only See the Effects of Our Times On Us—Not Our Effect On Others
Pearl Bailey? Apocryphal? Question for 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 …