When Everybody Thinks Alike, Nobody Will Think At All

George Patton? Benjamin Franklin? Walter Lippmann? John F. Kennedy? Sue Myrick? Edward Krehbiel? Jonathan P. Dolliver? Humphrey B. Neill? Eric Schmidt? Porter B. Williamson? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Conformity is a powerful force that narrows the thought patterns of groups and individuals. Here are three selections from a family of pertinent sayings:

(1) Where all think alike, no one thinks very much
(2) No one is thinking if everyone is thinking alike
(3) If everyone is thinking alike then somebody isn’t thinking

Items in this group have been attributed to the prominent statesman Benjamin Franklin, the influential journalist Walter Lippmann, the well-known military figure George S. Patton, and others. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This notion can be expressed in numerous ways; hence, it is quite difficult to trace. Below is an overview representing the evolution of this family with dates and attributions:

1886: When everybody thinks alike there is hardly any incentive to think at all
(Anonymous)

1905: When everybody thinks alike, nobody will think at all
(Anonymous)

1910: Where all think alike, you will find also a central office where all the thinking is done
(Jonathan P. Dolliver)

1915: Where all think alike, no one thinks very much
(Walter Lippmann)

1918: When all think alike no one thinks very much
(Anonymous)

1919: When everybody thinks alike nobody thinks at all
(Edward Krehbiel; He disclaimed credit in 1922)

1934: Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.
(Attributed to Walter Lippmann)

1935: Where everybody thinks alike nobody thinks much
(Anonymous)

1942: When everyone thinks alike, no one thinks.
(Attributed to Reader’s Digest)

1949: When everyone thinks alike, ‘everyone’ is likely to be wrong
(Humphrey B. Neill)

1955: With everyone thinking alike, no one thinks at all
(Juvenile probation officer)

1959: When everyone is thinking alike, no one is doing any thinking!
(Attributed to Walter Lippmann)

1964: If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking at all
(Attributed to John F. Kennedy)

1976: When everyone thinks alike, nobody thinks
(Attributed to Walter Lippmann)

1977: When all think alike, none thinks very much
(Attributed to Ronald Gould)

1979: No one is thinking if everyone is thinking alike
(Principle ascribed to Benjamin Franklin)

1979: If everyone is thinking alike, no one is thinking
(Principle ascribed to George Patton)

1988: If everybody’s thinking alike we’re not thinking
(Attributed to Sue Myrick)

1989: When all think alike, then no one is thinking.
(Attributed to Walter Lippmann)

1990: If everyone is thinking alike then somebody isn’t thinking
(Attributed to George Patton)

1995: If everyone is thinking alike then no one is thinking
(Attributed to Benjamin Franklin)

1997: No one’s thinking if everyone is thinking alike
(Attributed to George Patton)

Summary Highlights: Precursors occurred in the 19th century, but the earliest full match located by QI occurred as an anonymous filler item in 1905. Journalist Walter Lippmann employed an instance in 1915, and he often receives credit for his popular phrasing. Stanford Professor Edward Krehbiel used an instance in 1919 although he disclaimed authorship later. Newspaper columnist Humphrey B. Neill crafted a variant in 1949.

QI hypothesizes that the linkage to statesman Benjamin Franklin and General George Patton occurred because of remarks in the 1979 book “I Remember General Patton’s Principles” by Porter B. Williamson. The book did not directly attribute the saying to either of these men; instead, the book claimed that the saying represented a decision making principle used by Franklin and Patton. Details are given further below.

QI acknowledges the previous excellent work of researcher Barry Popik who explored this topic and found helpful citations beginning in 1919.[1]Website: The Big Apple, Article title: If everybody’s thinking alike, somebody isn’t thinking, Date on website: May 05, 2010, Website description: Etymological dictionary with more than 10,000 … Continue reading

Here are the details for the citations in chronological order.

Continue reading When Everybody Thinks Alike, Nobody Will Think At All

References

References
1 Website: The Big Apple, Article title: If everybody’s thinking alike, somebody isn’t thinking, Date on website: May 05, 2010, Website description: Etymological dictionary with more than 10,000 entries. (Accessed barrypopik.com on November 4, 2022) link

Many People Die at Twenty-Five and Aren’t Buried Until They Are Seventy-Five

Benjamin Franklin? George S. Patton? G. E. Marchand? Gertrude Nelson Andrews? Nicholas Murray Butler? George Lawton? Peter McWilliams? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: Living fully during each day of one’s allotted time in this world is an admirable goal, yet few achieve this objective. Here are two versions of a humorous and melancholy comment often credited to U.S. political leader Benjamin Franklin:

(1) Many men die at age 25, but aren’t buried until they’re 75.
(2) Some people die at 25 and are not buried until 75.

I am skeptical of this attribution because I have been unable to find a solid citation. Would you please help?

Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive support for the ascription to Benjamin Franklin. Searching Franklin’s oeuvre at franklinpapers.org yields nothing germane.

The phrasing is highly variable, and the two numbers specified fluctuate; hence, this family of sayings is quite difficult to trace. The earliest match located by QI appeared in April 1925 within a St. Louis, Missouri newspaper report about popular orator G. E. Marchand who told a large audience that personality was the key to success. Marchand employed a version of the saying based on the years 25 and 60:[1] 1925 April 2, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 1500 Persons Hear Marchand in First of Lecture Series, Quote Page 7, Column 2, St. Louis, Missouri. (Newspapers_com)

“Most men and women die intellectually at 25, but are not buried until 60,” he said. “Many have big brains but little jobs because they are walking about in their shroud.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading Many People Die at Twenty-Five and Aren’t Buried Until They Are Seventy-Five

References

References
1 1925 April 2, St. Louis Globe-Democrat, 1500 Persons Hear Marchand in First of Lecture Series, Quote Page 7, Column 2, St. Louis, Missouri. (Newspapers_com)

No Bastard Ever Won a War by Dying for His Country

George Patton? T. W. H. Crosland? Edmund Kozalla? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: General George S. Patton made the most incisive remark about war that I have ever heard. He was rallying Allied troops who were attempting to defeat the Axis Powers during World War II. His assertion about the two-edged sword of patriotism was cloaked in grim humor:

No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making some other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

I am not certain of the exact wording. Interestingly, some claim that this comment was not spoken by the general and actually originated with the 1970 movie “Patton”. Would you please explore its provenance?

Quote Investigator: The earliest published evidence known to QI appeared in the 1958 book “War and Peace in the Space Age” by Lt. General James M. Gavin. The author stated that he and other military personnel heard an address by Patton shortly before leaving Africa in 1943. Boldface has been added to excerpts:[1] 1958, War and Peace in the Space Age by Lt. General James M. Gavin (James Maurice Gavin), Quote Page 64, Published by Harper & Brothers, New York. (Verified on paper)

George Patton’s last words to us before we left Africa came home with meaning: “No dumb bastard ever won a war by going out and dying for his country. He won it by making some other dumb bastard die for his country.”

The speech was not publicized contemporaneously because of war time restrictions on information and because it contained language that was considered coarse for the era. Patton delivered many speeches during the war and some of the soldiers who heard his words recounted them in the following years. Unsurprisingly, the precise phrasing of the quotation under examination varied in these accounts.

An interesting precursor to the statement was in circulation during World War I, and similar remarks were printed in newspapers by 1942. Detailed information is further below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading No Bastard Ever Won a War by Dying for His Country

References

References
1 1958, War and Peace in the Space Age by Lt. General James M. Gavin (James Maurice Gavin), Quote Page 64, Published by Harper & Brothers, New York. (Verified on paper)
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