Tracing Quotations
Emily Dickinson? Thomas Wentworth Higginson? Mabel Loomis Todd? M. Lincoln Schuster? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent literary figure was asked about her life experiences, and she responded emphatically: I find ecstasy in living; the mere sense of living is joy enough. This remark has been attributed to nineteenth-century poet Emily Dickinson. Some sources …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: I Find Ecstasy in Living; the Mere Sense of Living Is Joy Enough”
Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.? Bernard Baruch? Joseph F. Dinneen? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Prescient investors pulled their money out of the U.S. stock market shortly before the crash of 1929. According to a Wall Street legend, a financier who received a stock tip from a shoeshine boy experienced the following epiphany: When a shoeshine …
Maya Angelou? Oprah Winfrey? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The true character of a person cannot be hidden for a lengthy period behind a mask of deception. Here are two versions of a pertinent saying: (1) When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.(2) When someone shows you who they are …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: When People Show You Who They Are, Believe Them, the First Time”
John James Audubon? Joseph Cornell? Patricia Holt? Jack Barclay? Birdwatcher’s Proverb? Jack Kornfield? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Much of our knowledge is obtained indirectly through reference books and instruction manuals. Yet, direct observation provides a more accurate guide. Here is pertinent saying from the domain of ornithology: When the bird and the book disagree, …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: When the Bird and the Book Disagree, Always Believe the Bird”
Thich Nhat Hanh? Sylvia Boorstein? Peg Bracken? Ollie Crawford? George D. Ludcke? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Humorous sayings can be created by ingeniously transforming mundane expressions. Most people are familiar with the entreaty: Don’t just sit there, do something. However, the following reordered sentence indicates that inaction is often desirable: Don’t just do something, …
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John Ruskin? Douglas Adams? Sydney J. Harris? Paul Harvey? Stanisław Jerzy Lec? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A group that acts in unison can cause enormous positive or negative changes. Each member of a group typically celebrates favorable developments but disavows adverse events. Here are three versions of a pertinent metaphorical adage: (1) No single …
Maya Angelou? Samuel Johnson? Sheree Crute? Salman Rushdie? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A writer, now celebrated, faced harsh criticism in the early days of her career. She responded by acknowledging that she required greater mental focus to succeed: If I wanted to write, I had to be willing to develop a kind of concentration …
Samuel Johnson? James Boswell? William Dodd? Maya Angelou? Arthur C. Clarke? Vermont Royster? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent literary figure crafted a fascinating statement about concentration. Here are two versions: (1) When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully. (2) Nothing so wonderfully concentrates …
Jane Fonda? Lee Winfrey? David Bassett? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: U.S. actress and activist Jane Fonda spoke on college campuses during the 1970s about the Vietnam War. I have seen claims that Fonda said something like the following: If you understood what communism was … you would pray on your knees that we would …
Marvin Minsky? Seymour Papert? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The remarkable breakthroughs in artificial intelligence in the twenty-first century are based on digital neural networks. This area of machine learning was pioneered by Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts who created an artificial neuron model. Also, researcher Frank Rosenblatt moved the field forward with his work …