Jacques Barzun? Morris Philipson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There are several roles in the domain of publishing. A prominent thinker has asserted that writing “is the most difficult of all to learn”. The thinker also said writing is “at least a craft and at its best an art”. These remarks have been attributed to …
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Quote Origin: Nothing That Makes Us Happy Is an Illusion
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe? Jules Verne? Friedrich Nietzsche? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A character in a novel by the prominent German poet and novelist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe presented a radical stance on happiness and illusion. Here are two versions: (1) Nothing which makes us happy is an illusion?(2) Can that be a delusion …
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Quote Origin: I Don’t Think the Human Race Will Survive the Next Thousand Years, Unless We Spread Into Space
Stephen Hawking? Alvin Toffler? David Deutsch? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Humankind currently inhabits only one small fragile planet, and the perils on Earth continue to grow. A prominent physicist once insisted that humankind must expand into space in order to survive the next thousand years. I am not sure of the exact phrasing. Would …
Quote Origin: It Will Become Clear That the Internet’s Impact on the Economy Has Been No Greater Than the Fax Machine’s
Paul Krugman? Herman Kahn? Steven D. Levitt? Stephen J. Dubner? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Predicting the technological future is enormously difficult. Will society ever have flying cars, home robots, or cities on Mars? The opinions of enthusiasts, skeptics, and experts are highly variable. The record of most prognosticators has been poor. Apparently, during the …
Quote Origin: The Worst Tempered People I’ve Ever Met Were People Who Knew They Were Wrong
David Letterman? Wilson Mizner? Edward Dean Sullivan? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: People who are angry and irritable often conceal a secret. They know they are mistaken about something vital. Here is a germane saying: The worst tempered people I have ever met were people who knew they were wrong. This saying has been attributed …
Quote Origin: One More Drink, and I’m Under the Host
Dorothy Parker? Bennett Cerf? Richard Martin Stern? Playboy’s Party Jokes? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The famous wit Dorothy Parker had trouble controlling her use of alcohol. According to legend she was asked about her experiences at a party, and she replied: One more drink and I’d have been under the host! Parker’s line was …
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Quote Origin: Fame Is Proof That The People Are Gullible
Ralph Waldo Emerson? Elbert Hubbard? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: New forms of celebrity have been created in recent years. TikTok and YouTube have produced influencers. Yet, popularity has become remarkably transient. I am reminded of the following harsh comment: (1) Fame is proof that the people are gullible.(2) Fame is proof that people are …
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Quote Origin: People Have Become the Tools of Their Tools
Henry David Thoreau? Winston Churchill? Marshall McLuhan? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Automation has been occurring for centuries, but the modern age has taken the trend to new extremes. The culture of humanity has shifted dramatically because of the tools created by technology. Here are two versions of a pertinent adage: (1) People have become …
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Dialogue Origin: “I Accept the Universe” “Gad! She’d Better!”
Margaret Fuller? Thomas Carlyle? Henry James Sr.? William James? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Horace Greely? Julia Ward Howe? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A famous nineteenth-century thinker once delivered a grand affirmation of the universe: “I accept the universe.” Another well-known intellectual heard about this pronouncement and attempted to puncture the elevated tone of the avowal: …
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Quote Origin: Doctors Are Paid To Talk Nonsense With the Patient Until Nature Heals Or the Remedies Kill
Voltaire? Molière? Jean Scholastique Pitton? Nicolas Frémont d’Ablancourt? Pierre Ortigue de Vaumorière? Benjamin Franklin? Laurence Sterne? Samuel Johnson? Ben Jonson? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A family of sayings presents a humorously cynical viewpoint about medicine. Here are four examples: (1) Physicians sit by your bedside till they kill you, or nature cures you. (2) …