Pablo Picasso? Jean Cocteau? Dorothy Allison? Henry A. Murray? Peter De Vries? Albert Camus? Julie Burchill? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Art works such as novels, paintings, and sculptures embody a stylized and distorted representation of the world. Yet, deep truths can best be expressed by deviating from the straitjacket of verisimilitude. Here are four versions …
Author Archives: quoteresearch
If I Cease Becoming Better, I Shall Soon Cease To Be Good
Oliver Cromwell? John Andrewes? Earl of Chichester? Mark Antony Lower? Viscount Fauconberg? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A popular saying extols continuous improvement. Here are four versions: He who ceases to be better ceases to be good. He who ceases to improve, ceases to be good. If I cease becoming better, I shall soon cease to …
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Don’t Be So Humble—You’re Not That Great
Golda Meir? Simcha Dinitz? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A humble brag is a statement that on its surface appears to be modest or self-deprecating; however, the true intent is to highlight a success or achievement. The funniest response I have seen to these types of comments is the following: Don’t act so humble; you aren’t …
It Is Easy To Predict an Automobile in 1880; It Is Very Hard To Predict a Traffic Problem
Frederik Pohl? Robert Heinlein? Isaac Asimov? Connie Willis? Ed Bryant? George Zebrowski? Ben Bova? Robert J. Sawyer? Sam Moskowitz? Dear Quote Investigator: Predicting the primary effects of a new technology is difficult but feasible. Anticipating all the secondary effects is nearly impossible. Here are two statements of a viewpoint that has achieved popularity amongst science …
It Is Difficult, After Knowing Opium, To Take Earth Seriously
Jean Cocteau? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The prominent French artist Jean Cocteau crafted the most insightful remark about addiction that I have ever read. Some drugs permanently shift one’s perception of pleasure and purpose in the world. Would you please help me to find Cocteau’s comment about the difficulty of taking the world seriously after …
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No One Really Listens To Anyone Else, and If You Try It for a While You’ll See Why
Mignon McLaughlin? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Imagine reading a constructive, entertaining, and edifying discussion thread on social media. If you travel through the looking glass you can envision six impossible things before breakfast. Now, imagine reading an unconstructive, mind-numbing, and obscurantist exchange. This latter possibility reminds me of a rueful remark from the famous wit …
An Alleged Scientific Discovery Has No Merit Unless It Can Be Explained To a Barmaid
Albert Einstein? Ernest Rutherford? Cyril Hinshelwood? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: It should be possible to explain a valid scientific theory to anybody, e.g., a nine-year-old, a grandmother, or the man in the street. This dubious assertion is challenged by the fact that few humans are able to comprehend the notion of a four-dimensional space-time manifold …
Whenever You See Me Somewhere Succeeding In One Area of My Life, That Almost Certainly Means I Am Failing In Another
Shonda Rhimes? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The acclaimed long-running television series Grey’s Anatomy was created by writer and producer Shonda Rhimes. Her company Shondaland has successfully produced many lauded shows. Predictably, Rhimes leads a very busy life. Unpredictably, she was willing to speak with complete candor to graduating Ivy League students. What sobering message did …
The Dubious Privilege of a Freelance Writer Is He’s Given the Freedom To Starve Anywhere
S. J. Perelman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A major shift in the U.S. labor market has been occurring in recent years. The emerging system has been called the gig economy or the freelance economy. Self-employed temporary workers perform tasks for agreed-upon payments. Freelancing has been common in some fields for many decades. The prominent humorist …
Quote Origin: His Grace Returned From the Wars This Morning and Pleasured Me Twice in His Top-Boots
Sarah Churchill? James Agate? A. L. Rowse? Theodor Reik? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A legend asserts that Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough wrote a passionate remark in her diary. Here are three versions: Are any of these statements genuine? What evidence is available? Reply from Quote Investigator: Several researchers have attempted to explore this …