Quote Investigator® – Page 168

If Your Only Tool Is a Hammer Then Every Problem Looks Like a Nail

Mark Twain? Abraham Maslow? Abraham Kaplan? Silvan Tomkins? Kenneth Mark Colby? Lee Loevinger? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: The tools that we are able to apply to problems alter our perceptions of the challenges we face and the solutions that are appropriate. A popular adage illustrates this idea with a compelling analogy. Here are three versions:

1) To a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.
2) If your only tool is a hammer then every problem looks like a nail.
3) Give a young boy a hammer, and he will treat everything as a nail.

This saying is often attributed to Mark Twain, but I have been unable to find anything that fits in his writings. Do you know who should receive credit for this modern proverb?

Quote Investigator: Expert Ralph Keyes examined this saying in his reference work “The Quote Verifier”, and he noted that the linkage to Mark Twain was unsupported:^[1] 2006, The Quote Verifier by Ralph Keyes, Quote Page 87, St Martin’s Griffin, New York. (Verified on paper)

Credit for this familiar quotation has been given to everyone from Buddha to Bernard Baruch. Mark Twain is the most common recipient, based on no evidence whatsoever.

A thematic precursor involving a boy was published in a London periodical called “Once a Week” in 1868. The notion of a child wielding a hammer with overeager energy also occurred in later citations:^[2]1868 April 18, Once a Week, Edited by E. S. Dallas, Number 16, Toys, Start Page 343, Quote Page 344, Column 2, Published by Bradbury, Evans & Company, Fleet Street, London. (Google Books Full … Continue reading

Give a boy a hammer and chisel; show him how to use them; at once he begins to hack the doorposts, to take off the corners of shutter and window frames, until you teach him a better use for them, and how to keep his activity within bounds.

In February 1962 a conference of the American Educational Research Association was held and Abraham Kaplan, a Professor of Philosophy at UCLA, gave a banquet speech. Several months later in June 1962 a report on the gathering was published in the “Journal of Medical Education”. The following excerpt about the speech included the earliest strong match for the adage known to QI. Boldface has been added:^[3]1962 June, Journal of Medical Education, Volume 37, Trends In Education by Milton J. Horowitz, (Report on the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) held on February … Continue reading

The highlight of the 3-day meeting, however, was to be found in Kaplan’s comment on the choice of methods for research. He urged that scientists exercise good judgment in the selection of appropriate methods for their research. Because certain methods happen to be handy, or a given individual has been trained to use a specific method, is no assurance that the method is appropriate for all problems. He cited Kaplan’s Law of the Instrument: “Give a boy a hammer and everything he meets has to be pounded.”

Interestingly, this instance did not contain the word “nail”. Instead, the nail was referenced implicitly via the word “hammer” and the verb “to pound”.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “If Your Only Tool Is a Hammer Then Every Problem Looks Like a Nail”

References

References
↑1	2006, The Quote Verifier by Ralph Keyes, Quote Page 87, St Martin’s Griffin, New York. (Verified on paper)
↑2	1868 April 18, Once a Week, Edited by E. S. Dallas, Number 16, Toys, Start Page 343, Quote Page 344, Column 2, Published by Bradbury, Evans & Company, Fleet Street, London. (Google Books Full View) link
↑3	1962 June, Journal of Medical Education, Volume 37, Trends In Education by Milton J. Horowitz, (Report on the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) held on February 19-21, 1962), Start Page 634, Quote Page 637, Association of American Medical Colleges, Baltimore, Maryland. (Verified on paper)

Quote Origin: It Is Not the Strongest of the Species that Survives But the Most Adaptable

Charles Darwin? Leon C. Megginson? Clarence Darrow? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The following statement is often attributed to the famous scientist Charles Darwin, but I am skeptical:

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.

Shortened versions of the same basic expression have also been ascribed to Darwin. Here are three examples:

It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change.

It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.

It is not the strongest of the species that survives, but rather, that which is most adaptable to change.

Sometimes this remark is said to appear in “On the Origin of Species” which was Darwin’s epochal tome about evolution, but my searches have found no matches in that book. Are these really the words of Darwin?

Reply from Quote Investigator: There is no substantive evidence that Charles Darwin said or wrote this statement.

The scholars working on the “Darwin Correspondence Project” based at Cambridge University have considerable expertise concerning the words of Darwin. They have constructed an important database of 7,500 letters written or received by Charles Darwin. An article on the project website places the statement under investigation into a set of “Six things Darwin never said”.¹

The earliest relevant evidence known to QI appeared in a speech delivered in 1963 by a Louisiana State University business professor named Leon C. Megginson at the convention of the Southwestern Social Science Association. The text of his address was published in the quarterly journal of the association. Megginson presented his own idiosyncratic interpretation of the central idea outlined in Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species”. Megginson did not use quotation marks, and the phrasing was somewhat repetitive. Boldface has been added to excerpts:²

Yes, change is the basic law of nature. But the changes wrought by the passage of time affects individuals and institutions in different ways. According to Darwin’s Origin of Species, it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself. Applying this theoretical concept to us as individuals, we can state that the civilization that is able to survive is the one that is able to adapt to the changing physical, social, political, moral, and spiritual environment in which it finds itself.

QI believes that over time Megginson’s remarks were streamlined and reassigned directly to Charles Darwin. This is a known mechanism for the generation of misattributions. Person A summarizes, condenses, or restates the opinion of person B. At a later time the restatement is directly ascribed to person B.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

There’s Nothing More Genuinely Artistic Than to Love People

Vincent van Gogh? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: Vincent van Gogh was the boldest and most innovative painter of the 19th-century in my opinion. Here are two versions of a poignant statement that has been attributed to him:

There is nothing more truly artistic than to love people.
There’s nothing more genuinely artistic than to love people.

Would you please explore the provenance of this quotation?

Quote Investigator: This saying appeared in a letter dated September 18, 1888 written by Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo in which the artist expressed heartfelt thanks to his sibling for kind financial support.

A splendid database of letters and translations is accessible through the website of the Van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam. The database even provides facsimiles of the original letters. The following excerpt in French appeared in the 1888 letter by Vincent. The translation into English was composed by the Van Gogh Letters Project. Boldface has been added:^[1]Website: Van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam: Vincent van Gogh Letters, Letter number: 682, Letter from: Vincent van Gogh, Location: Arles, Letter to: Theo van Gogh, Date: September 18, 1888, Website … Continue reading

Tu es bon pour les peintres et saches le bien que plus j’y réfléchis plus je sens qu’il n’y a rien de plus réellement artistique que d’aimer les gens.

You’re kind to painters, and be sure that the more I think about it the more I feel that there’s nothing more genuinely artistic than to love people.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “There’s Nothing More Genuinely Artistic Than to Love People”

References

References
↑1	Website: Van Gogh Museum of Amsterdam: Vincent van Gogh Letters, Letter number: 682, Letter from: Vincent van Gogh, Location: Arles, Letter to: Theo van Gogh, Date: September 18, 1888, Website description: Van Gogh Letters Project database of the Van Gogh Museum. (Accessed vangoghletters.org on May 1, 2014) link

Common Sense Is Nothing More Than a Deposit of Prejudices Laid Down in the Mind Before Age Eighteen

Albert Einstein? Lincoln Barnett? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: Albert Einstein’s astonishing theory of relativity is highly counter-intuitive. For example, the theory indicates that time can pass at different rates in different reference frames. This certainly challenges common sense. The following germane statement is attributed to Einstein:

Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.

Are these really the words of Einstein?

Quote Investigator: The earliest relevant evidence located by QI was published in May 1948 by Lincoln Barnett who was the former editor of “Life” magazine. He wrote a three-part series titled “The Universe and Dr. Einstein” for the April, May, and June issues of “Harper’s Magazine” which included a discussion of the theory of relativity. A version of the saying was attributed to Einstein by Barnett, but the words were not placed between quotation marks. Boldface has been added:^[1]1948 May, Harper’s Magazine, Volume 196, The Universe and Dr. Einstein: Part II by Lincoln Barnett, Start Page 465, Quote Page 473, Column 1, Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York. … Continue reading

At first meeting these facts are difficult to digest but that is simply because classical physics assumed, unjustifiably, that an object preserves the same dimensions whether it is in motion or at rest and that a clock keeps the same rhythm in motion and at rest. Common sense dictates that this must be so. But as Einstein has pointed out, common sense is actually nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind prior to the age of eighteen. Every new idea one encounters in later years must combat this accretion of “self-evident” concepts. And it is because of Einstein’s unwillingness ever to accept any unproven principle as self-evident that he was able to penetrate closer to the underlying realities of nature than any scientist before him.

The material in the series was used as the foundation of a book by Barnett under the same title of “The Universe and Dr. Einstein” that was released in 1948 in New York and 1949 in London. The excerpt given above was also included in the book. Interestingly, the foreword was written by Albert Einstein who commended the work:^[2]1949 (Copyright 1948), The Universe and Dr. Einstein by Lincoln Barnett (Lincoln Kinnear Barnett), (Foreword by Albert Einstein dated September 10, 1948), Quote Page 6 and 49, Published by Victor … Continue reading

Lincoln Barnett’s book represents a valuable contribution to popular scientific writing. The main ideas of the theory of relativity are extremely well presented. Moreover, the present state of our knowledge in physics is aptly characterized.

Einstein’s remarks provided evidence that he had read the manuscript, and apparently he had not objected to the viewpoint about common sense that Barnett had ascribed to him.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Common Sense Is Nothing More Than a Deposit of Prejudices Laid Down in the Mind Before Age Eighteen”

References

References
↑1	1948 May, Harper’s Magazine, Volume 196, The Universe and Dr. Einstein: Part II by Lincoln Barnett, Start Page 465, Quote Page 473, Column 1, Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York. (Verified on microfilm)
↑2	1949 (Copyright 1948), The Universe and Dr. Einstein by Lincoln Barnett (Lincoln Kinnear Barnett), (Foreword by Albert Einstein dated September 10, 1948), Quote Page 6 and 49, Published by Victor Gollancz Ltd., London. (Verified with scans)

A Professor Is One Who Talks in Someone Else’s Sleep

W. H. Auden? Apocryphal? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: The acclaimed poet W. H. Auden popularized one of the funniest definitions for an academic:

A professor is one who talks in someone else’s sleep.

Do you know whether Auden crafted this quip?

Quote Investigator: There is substantive evidence that W. H. Auden did employ this joke by 1940, and a detailed citation is given further below. However, the well-known literary figure did not originate the remark.

A nascent version of the jape was in circulation in 1900, and the expression evolved for decades. Instances of the barb have been aimed at preachers, bores, clergymen, professors, lecturers, politicians, and teachers.

The earliest evidence known to QI was a precursor printed in August 1900 in “The Evening Post” newspaper of New York which acknowledged the “Boston Transcript”. The following variant did not disparage any particular profession; instead, the punch line was self-deprecating:^[1] 1900 August 29, The Evening Post (New York Evening Post), Newspaper Waifs, Quote Page 6, Column 7, New York. (Old Fulton)

Brown—”Do you ever talk in your sleep? ”
Town—”Not that I know of. I have sometimes talked in other people’s sleep”

In 1900 and 1901 this comical filler item was reprinted in multiple newspapers, e.g., “The Washington Post” of Washington, D.C., “Santa Fe New Mexican” of New Mexico, and “The Cato Citizen” of New York.^[2] 1900 August 31, Washington Post, Precise Speech, Quote Page 6, Column 4, Washington, D.C. (ProQuest)^[3] 1900 December 3, Santa Fe New Mexican, Precise Speech, Quote Page 3, Column 4, Santa Fe, New Mexico. (GenealogyBank)^[4] 1901 January 26, The Cato Citizen, Precise Speech, Quote Page 2, Column 5, Cato, New York. (Old Fulton)

In 1906 the “Amsterdam Evening Recorder” of New York and other newspapers printed a version of the joke featuring a preacher’s wife under the title “When He Talked”:^[5] 1906 October 10, Amsterdam Evening Recorder, When He Talked, Quote Page 4, Column 7, Amsterdam, New York. (Old Fulton)^[6] 1906 December 18, St. Lawrence Plaindealer, When He Talked, Quote Page 7, Column 3, Canton, New York. (Old Fulton)

Mrs. Newlywed—Does your husband ever talk in his sleep, Mrs. Longwed?
Mrs. Longwed—No, dear; he talks in other people’s sleep. He is a preacher, you know.
—Woman’s Home Companion.

Thus, ecclesiastics were chided before the quip metamorphosed to target educators. The existence of these early instances was discovered by top quotation expert Fred R. Shapiro, editor of “The Yale Book of Quotations”.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “A Professor Is One Who Talks in Someone Else’s Sleep”

References

References
↑1	1900 August 29, The Evening Post (New York Evening Post), Newspaper Waifs, Quote Page 6, Column 7, New York. (Old Fulton)
↑2	1900 August 31, Washington Post, Precise Speech, Quote Page 6, Column 4, Washington, D.C. (ProQuest)
↑3	1900 December 3, Santa Fe New Mexican, Precise Speech, Quote Page 3, Column 4, Santa Fe, New Mexico. (GenealogyBank)
↑4	1901 January 26, The Cato Citizen, Precise Speech, Quote Page 2, Column 5, Cato, New York. (Old Fulton)
↑5	1906 October 10, Amsterdam Evening Recorder, When He Talked, Quote Page 4, Column 7, Amsterdam, New York. (Old Fulton)
↑6	1906 December 18, St. Lawrence Plaindealer, When He Talked, Quote Page 7, Column 3, Canton, New York. (Old Fulton)

Sex Appeal Is 50 Per Cent What You’ve Got and 50 Per Cent What People Think You’ve Got

Sophia Loren? Apocryphal? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: I am trying to recall an observation made in the 1950s or 1960s by a great beauty. I do not remember the precise wording. The essence of the quotation was that her attractiveness was 50 percent actual and 50 percent projected by others. Would you please help me to identify the quote and who said it?

Quote Investigator: The earliest relevant evidence QI has found appeared in a gossip column called “The Smart Set” by Cholly Knickerbocker in December 1957. The adage was ascribed to the film star Sophia Loren, and she combined the insightful remark with a modest self-evaluation. Boldface has been added:^[1] 1957 December 13, Anniston Star, The Smart Set by Cholly Knickerbocker, Quote Page 6, Column 2, Anniston, Alabama. (NewspaperArchive)

So help us, Sophia Loren said it: “Sex appeal is 50 per cent what you’ve got and 50 per cent what people think you’ve got. People think I’ve got far more than I really have. I must not try to disillusion them.”

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Sex Appeal Is 50 Per Cent What You’ve Got and 50 Per Cent What People Think You’ve Got”

References

References
↑1	1957 December 13, Anniston Star, The Smart Set by Cholly Knickerbocker, Quote Page 6, Column 2, Anniston, Alabama. (NewspaperArchive)

If We Are Here to Help Others, I Often Wonder What the Others Are Here For

W. H. Auden? George Herbert Palmer? Young Boy? Thomas Robert Dewar? John Foster Hall? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: Altruism is a cornerstone of many religions and philosophies. Here are two versions of a humorous comment on this topic:

If we are here to help others, I often wonder what the others are here for.

We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for, I don’t know.

This quip has been attributed to the prominent poet W. H. Auden and the Scottish whisky distiller Thomas Dewar. Do you know who should be credited?

Quote Investigator: The first expression listed above was attributed to Thomas Robert Dewar in 1926. The joke was included in a set of sayings printed in a newspaper under the title “A Peer’s Epigrams” with a concluding ascription to “Lord Dewar”. The details for this cite are given further below

In addition, W. H. Auden did write the second expression in a 1942 essay, but the context indicated that he was repeating an existing joke. Details are further below.

The earliest evidence located by QI appeared before the above two citations in the “Year Book of the Brookline Education Society” in 1897. A lecture was delivered in Brookline, Massachusetts by a Harvard Professor named George Herbert Palmer, and he spoke about the complex nature of altruism:

We must be altruists—although I am not sure that altruism is not a sort of contradiction.

Palmer told a version of the joke in which a child spoke the punch line:^[1]1897, Year Book of the Brookline Education Society, Second Year: 1896-1897, Third Lecture, January 27th: Subject: “The Profession of the Teacher”, (Date of lecture January 27, 1897), Start Page … Continue reading

Professor Palmer here related an anecdote of two children who were overheard talking one night on the end of living. Such a narrow subject for children! The girl said that she knew what she was here for—“to help others.” “Well,” remarked the boy, “what are the others here for?” This is the weakness of altruism.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “If We Are Here to Help Others, I Often Wonder What the Others Are Here For”

References

References
↑1	1897, Year Book of the Brookline Education Society, Second Year: 1896-1897, Third Lecture, January 27th: Subject: “The Profession of the Teacher”, (Date of lecture January 27, 1897), Start Page 14, Quote Page 16, Published by The Riverdale Press: C.A.W. Spencer, Brookline, Massachusetts. (Google Books Full View) link

Alone We Can Do So Little. Together We Can Do So Much

Helen Keller? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: A website on education policy began a recent article with a statement attributed to Helen Keller:

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

No citation was given. Would you please examine this saying?

Quote Investigator: There is good evidence that Helen Keller did speak this line on multiple occasions. In the early 1920s Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan decided to earn money by performing on the vaudeville circuit. Their finances were precarious, and they had successfully given performances on the Chautauqua circuit in the past.

The comprehensive dual biography “Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy” by Joseph P. Lash released in 1980 included a chapter about this interval spent in show business. The act of Keller and Sullivan “lasted only twenty minutes”, and it included a short speech by Keller though “every word was still a battle to enunciate”. The saying was part of this homily. Boldface has been added to this excerpt:^[1]1980, Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy by Joseph P. Lash, Chapter: On the Vaudeville Circuit , Start Page 487, Quote Page 489, A Merloyd Lawrence Book: Delacorte … Continue reading

My Teacher has told you how a word from her hand touched the darkness of my mind and I awoke to the gladness of life. I was dumb; now I speak. I owe this to the hands and hearts of others. Through their love I found my soul and God and happiness. Don’t you see what it means? We live by each other and for each other. Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much. Only love can break down the walls that stand between us and our happiness.

The author did not indicate the precise provenance of the speech text, but he did have access to several key repositories, e.g., the Helen Keller archives at the American Foundation for the Blind and the archive at the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf in Washington, D.C.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Alone We Can Do So Little. Together We Can Do So Much”

References

References
↑1	1980, Helen and Teacher: The Story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy by Joseph P. Lash, Chapter: On the Vaudeville Circuit , Start Page 487, Quote Page 489, A Merloyd Lawrence Book: Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence, New York. (Verified on paper)

Half of the Town Councilors Are Not Fools

Swedish Councilor? Benjamin Disraeli? Australian Alderman? Casey Motsisi? Dennis Skinner? Apocryphal?

Dear Quote Investigator: Recently on twitter I saw a joke about the limits placed on unparliamentary language in Britain. A photo depicted an unhappy contemporary politician in the House of Commons with a caption similar to the following:

Politician: Half the members of the opposition are crooks.
House of Commons Speaker: Please retract.
Politician: OK. Half the members of the opposition are not crooks.

In the past, I heard an anecdote that followed the same outline and finished with the punch line:

Half the Cabinet members are not asses.

These words were attributed to the prominent British statesman Benjamin Disraeli. However, I haven’t been able to find a good citation. Would you please examine this topic?

Quote Investigator: An anecdote about Benjamin Disraeli following the template of this joke has been in circulation for decades. However, the earliest evidence located by QI linking the tale to Disraeli appeared in 1958, and the statesman died in 1881. Details for this citation are given further below.

The first instance of the jape found by QI was printed in a newspaper story in July 1927 set in an unnamed town near Uppsala, Sweden. A government official reportedly lost his temper and rebuked his fellows. Boldface has been added:^[1] 1927 July 20, Altoona Mirror, The Better Half, Quote Page 12, Column 1, Altoona, Pennsylvania. (NewspaperArchive)

A municipal councilor … remarked that certainly half of his colleagues were fools. An apology was demanded. He promised to make reparation and caused bills with the following correction to be posted on boardings in the town: “I said that half of the town councilors are fools. I now declare that half of the town councilors are not fools.”

Over the years the jest has evolved and has been aimed at a variety of people, including town councilors, aldermen, cabinet members, and members of the House of Commons.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Half of the Town Councilors Are Not Fools”

References

References
↑1	1927 July 20, Altoona Mirror, The Better Half, Quote Page 12, Column 1, Altoona, Pennsylvania. (NewspaperArchive)

Happiness Is A Butterfly, Which When Pursued, Seems Always Just Beyond Your Grasp

Nathaniel Hawthorne? Henry David Thoreau? L.? Apocryphal? Anonymous?

Dear Quote Investigator: An ingenious and lovely simile about happiness is confusingly attributed to two prominent literary figures: Nathaniel Hawthorne and Henry David Thoreau. Here are two versions:

Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.

Who do you think really originated this analogy?

Quote Investigator: QI believes that neither of these gentlemen was responsible for this figurative language. The earliest evidence known to QI was published in several periodicals beginning in 1848.

In June 1848 a newspaper called “The Daily Crescent” in New Orleans, Louisiana printed a set of sixteen definitions for terms such as “Love”, “Faith”, “Truth”, “Wealth”, and “Experience”. The article was labelled “For the Crescent”, so this article may have been the original publication. The author was only identified by the single initial “L”.

The butterfly metaphor was presented within the definition for “Happiness”. Here’s a sampling of three definitions. Emphasis by QI:^[1]1848 June 23, The Daily Crescent, A Chapter of Definitions, (The line above the title stated “For the Crescent”; author was specified with the single letter “L.”), Quote Page … Continue reading

LOVE.—The electric spark communicating between two human galvanic batteries.

WEALTH.—The sum which gives content, whether one dollar or a million.

HAPPINESS.—A butterfly, which when pursued, seems always just beyond your grasp; but if you sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

The mistaken ascription to Nathaniel Hawthorne appeared many years later and was probably based on the misreading of an ambiguous entry in a book of quotations published in 1891. The details are given further below.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Continue reading “Happiness Is A Butterfly, Which When Pursued, Seems Always Just Beyond Your Grasp”

References

References
↑1	1848 June 23, The Daily Crescent, A Chapter of Definitions, (The line above the title stated “For the Crescent”; author was specified with the single letter “L.”), Quote Page 2, Column 4, New Orleans, Louisiana. (Chronicling America)