Tracing Quotations
Clement Greenberg? Robert M. Coates? Jane Holtz Kay? Pablo Picasso? Gertrude Stein? Tom Wolfe? Question for Quote Investigator: Modern art evokes divergent reactions. One unhappy critic described three paintings by Jackson Pollock as “mere unorganized explosions of random energy, and therefore meaningless”. However, an influential critic who championed Pollock stated: All profoundly original art looks …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: All Profoundly Original Art Looks Ugly at First”
Pablo Picasso? Gertrude Stein? Alice B. Toklas? Clement Greenberg? Victor Papanek? Edmund Wilson? Question for Quote Investigator: Creating innovative artworks is difficult, and pioneering artists face strong opposition. New music is deemed discordant and grating. New architecture is labeled misshapen and impractical. New paintings are considered ugly and maladroit. Apparently, a prominent painter once said: …
Ernest Hemingway? Arnold Samuelson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The life of a famous writer is exhaustively scrutinized by academics who attempt to delineate the young scribe’s growth and maturation. Yet, the typical writer does not wish to be placed under a microscope. Apparently, a prominent author once said: It’s none of their business that …
Ray Hyman? James Alcock? Jeane Dixon? Murray Rothbard? William Spiller? J. Bricout? R. S. Bailey? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Remarkable stories of supernatural phenomena are sometimes inaccurate, exaggerated, or fraudulent. The following pertinent saying circulates within the skeptics community: Do not try to explain something until you are sure there is something to be …
Catherine Deneuve? Kathleen Turner? Francoise de la Renta? Carolina Herrera? Ida Jean Kain? Erma Bombeck? Elizabeth Taylor? Meryl Streep? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: It is common for an individual to gain weight while growing older. Yet, dieting to maintain a slim body can inadvertently produce a face that looks angular or gaunt. Here are …
Herbert A. Simon? Eric Schmidt? Andrej Karpathy? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The capabilities of artificial intelligence systems continue to grow in 2025. Complex computer programs can now be generated from prompts uttered in English, Chinese, and other natural languages. Here are two predictions separated by sixty-five years: (1) It is far more likely that …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Programming Occupation Will Become Extinct”
Arthur Kantrowitz? Gerard K. O’Neill? Timothy Leary? Arthur C. Clarke? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Grand futuristic projects such as the following four examples have been greeted with a mixture of hope, excitement, skepticism, and derision: (1) Laser propulsion systems for spacecraft(2) Space-based solar power systems(3) Space habitats with thousands or millions of people(4) Space …
Kansas Cooperative Council? Lance Burr? Betty Hutton? Jim Briggs? John Rankin? Boris Yavitz? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: One encounters numerous obstacles when working toward the completion of an ambitious goal. It is necessary to keep the final objective in mind to make progress. A humorous statement highlights the troubles one must circumvent: When you …
François Truffaut? Sam Mendes? Steven Spielberg? Gene Siskel? Roger Ebert? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The excitement, violence, and brutality of films about war often causes confusion in the minds of movie goers. Even when a director’s avowed stance is anti-war the visceral reaction of viewers might be very different. A prominent director once said something …
Francis Bacon? Samuel Palmer? James Kelly? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Valuable insights into cultures may be obtained by studying popular proverbs. The English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon has been credited with the following statement: The genius, wit, and spirit of a nation are discovered in its proverbs. I am skeptical of this attribution …