Quote Origin: Even If You Are On the Right Track You Will Get Run Over If You Just Sit There

Mark Twain? Will Rogers? Tom Sims? Arthur Godfrey? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: You must stay active and alert to have a fulfilling life. Two famous U.S. humorists, Mark Twain and Will Rogers, have been credited with the following remark: Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit …

Quote Origin: The Most Common Form of Despair Is Not Being Who You Are

Søren Kierkegaard? Carl Rogers? John Rowan? Howard Sasportas? Walter Lowrie? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Unhappy people often feel compelled to wear a social mask and to live inauthentic lives. Danish theologian and existentialist philosopher Søren Kierkegaard has been credited with the following remark: The most common form of despair is not being who you …

Quote Origin: You’re an Idiot If You’re Not Writing for the AIs

Tyler Cowen? Dwarkesh Patel? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Several newspapers including “The New York Times”, “The Chicago Tribune”, and “The Orlando Sentinel” have sued OpenAI and Microsoft. The newspapers have claimed that the companies trained their artificial intelligence (AI) systems on millions of copyrighted articles without permission. This protectiveness is understandable, but the influential …

Quote Origin: Keep Your Eye On the Doughnut, Not the Hole

David Lynch? Margaret Atwood? Jacob Riis? Grant E. Hamilton? Wendy Wasserstein? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The following saying encourages an optimistic focus on what matters in life: Keep your eye on the doughnut, not the hole. The influential U.S. movie director David Lynch and the prominent Canadian novelist Margaret Atwood have both employed this …

Quote Origin: Accept the Children the Way We Accept Trees—With Gratitude … You Don’t Expect Trees To Change, You Love Them As They Are

Isabel Allende? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Children are independent beings who cannot be rigidly controlled by the expectations and desires of parents. Children need unconditional love. The prominent Chilean-American writer Isabel Allende once made this point while comparing children with trees. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: …

Quote Origin: At Long Last, We Have Created the Torment Nexus from Classic Sci-Fi Novel: Don’t Create The Torment Nexus

Alex Blechman? Ray Bradbury? Neal Stephenson? Mark Zuckerberg? Abe Murray? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator:  Science fiction is filled with cautionary fables and dystopian visions such as the murderous HAL 9000 computer of the movie “2001”, the relentless T-800 robot of the movie “The Terminator”, the disorienting cyberspace of the short story “Burning Chrome” by William …

Quote Origin: If There Is No Smoking in Heaven, I Shall Not Go There

Mark Twain? James Ross Clemens? Lowell Gleason? Roger Durrett? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Mark Twain enjoyed smoking cigars. The following three closely related quips have been attributed to the famed humorist: (1) If I cannot smoke in heaven, I shall not go there.(2) If there are no cigars in heaven, I shall not …

Quote Origin: The Friends of My Adversity I Shall Always Cherish Most

Ulysses S. Grant? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Distinguishing between true friends and fair-weather friends can be difficult. A former U.S. president stated that he cherished most those who remained friends when he was facing adversity. They relieved the gloom of his darkest hours. Apparently, Ulysses S. Grant said something like this. Would you please …

Quote Origin: Life With a Capital F

Jacqueline Carol? Lilian Baylis? John Lennon? Athol Fugard? Charles Olson? Maud Carpenter? Ronnie Barker? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Exasperation or excitement produces the following exclamation which provides a capsule description of the human adventure: Life with a capital F. The “F” corresponds to the initial letter of the four-letter word for fornication. Yet, the …

Dialogue Origin: “Deep Learning Is Hitting a Wall” “There Is No Wall”

Gary Marcus? Sam Altman? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The progress achieved in artificial intelligence (AI) during the 21st century has been remarkable. Billions of dollars have been spent to build supercomputers and to train AI systems. Yet, the rate of future progress is uncertain. A skeptic stated: Deep learning is hitting a wall. An …