George Bernard Shaw? Henrietta Clopath? Sidney Trefusis? Charles Baudelaire? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems are now capable of rapidly constructing images, videos, 3d-objects, and text. The current output displays flaws, but the quality and variety continues to improve. Artists are experiencing a volatile mixture of wonder, anticipation, uncertainty, fear, …
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Quote Origin: Edison Has Invented Too Many Things
New York Times? Anonymous? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: After Thomas Edison invented the phonograph many praised the device. However, a major newspaper apparently reacted with the following odd remark: Mr. Edison has invented too many things. This statement has been attributed to “The New York Times”. Is this quotation accurate? Did it ever appear …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Edison Has Invented Too Many Things”
Quote Origin: The Tree Remembers What the Axe Forgets
Shona Proverb? G. Fortune? Maya Angelou? Wolfgang Mieder? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A faultfinder may deliver a harsh criticism and quickly forget it. Yet, the recipient of the barb may create a painful memory. Similarly, a person who causes an injury may forget the incident, but the person who is hurt will likely remember …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Tree Remembers What the Axe Forgets”
Quote Origin: You Will Find the Key To Success Under Your Alarm Clock
Benjamin Franklin? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Achieving success in life requires simple skills such as showing up for work on time. The following saying is pertinent: You will find the key to success under the alarm clock. This statement has been attributed to U.S. statesman Benjamin Franklin. However, I am skeptical because I …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Will Find the Key To Success Under Your Alarm Clock”
Quote Origin: There Is No Point in Using Exact Methods Where There Is No Clarity in the Concepts and Issues To Which They Are To Be Applied
John von Neumann? Oskar Morgenstern? W. Edwards Deming? Michael A. Jackson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The brilliant polymath John von Neumann performed pioneering research in game theory, computer science, quantum physics, and other areas. His work was so original that he required the formulation of important new definitions. The following two similar remarks have …
Quote Origin: The Trees Voted for the Axe Because the Axe Handle Was Made of Wood
Talmudic Proverb? Turkish Proverb? Kimberly Joyce Pollock? Wafula Chebukati? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A popular allegory suggests that people are unable to distinguish between allies and adversaries: The forest was shrinking, but the trees kept voting for the axe. The axe was clever and convinced the trees that since his handle was made of …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Trees Voted for the Axe Because the Axe Handle Was Made of Wood”
Quote Origin: To Stand Up For the Truth Is Nothing! For Truth You Have To Sit In Jail!
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn? Anatoly Ilyich Fastenko? Alexander Pushkin? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A political activist once indicated that standing up for the truth was nothing, whereas sitting in jail for the truth reflected genuine commitment. I do not recall the precise phrasing. This notion has been attributed to Soviet dissident Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, but I have …
Quote Origin: People Will Only Work Fifteen Hours a Week In the Future
John Maynard Keynes? Bertrand Russell? Herman Kahn? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The ongoing developments in artificial intelligence and robotics remind me of a remark attributed to the famous English economist John Maynard Keynes. Apparently, he predicted that technological advancements would allow society to adapt a fifteen-hour work week. Would you please help me to …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: People Will Only Work Fifteen Hours a Week In the Future”
Quote Origin: It Takes Twenty Years To Become an Overnight Success
Eddie Cantor? Hedda Hopper? Milton Berle? Johnny Desmond? Army Archerd? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Years of hard work performed in obscurity are usually required before achieving fame. A humorously contradictory saying reflects this viewpoint. Here are three versions: (1) It took me five years to become an overnight success.(2) It took her ten years …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: It Takes Twenty Years To Become an Overnight Success”
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 …