Quote Investigator® – Page 2 – Tracing Quotations

Quote Origin: All Profoundly Original Art Looks Ugly at First

Clement Greenberg? Robert M. Coates? Jane Holtz Kay? Pablo Picasso? Gertrude Stein? Tom Wolfe?

**Public domain blue-green painting using the drip style**

Question for Quote Investigator: Modern art evokes divergent reactions. One unhappy critic described three paintings by Jackson Pollock as “mere unorganized explosions of random energy, and therefore meaningless”. However, an influential critic who championed Pollock stated:

All profoundly original art looks ugly at first.

Would you please help me identify these critics and find citations for these remarks?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1945 art critic Clement Greenberg published an essay in “The Nation” which praised contemporary artist Jackson Pollock as “the strongest painter of his generation”. Greenberg celebrated courageous artists. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

There has been a certain amount of self-deception in School of Paris art since the exit of cubism. In Pollock there is absolutely none, and he is not afraid to look ugly—all profoundly original art looks ugly at first. Those who find his oils overpowering are advised to approach him through his gouaches, which in trying less to wring every possible ounce of intensity from every square inch of surface achieve greater clarity and are less suffocatingly packed than the oils.

In 1948 “The New Yorker” magazine published a piece by art critic Robert M. Coates who described the paintings of Pollock as large blobs of color laced with fine lines. Coates contended that the pictures contained no recognizable symbols:²

Such a style has its dangers, for the threads of communication between artist and spectator are so very tenuous that the utmost attention is required to get the message through. There are times when communications break down entirely, and, with the best will in the world, I can say of such pieces as “Lucifer,” “Reflection of the Big Dipper,” and “Cathedral” only that they seem mere unorganized explosions of random energy, and therefore meaningless.

Coates’s judgement of Pollock was not uniformly negative. He also stated:

. . . both “Magic Lantern” and the larger “Enchanted Forest” have a good deal of poetic suggestion about them.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: When You Make a Thing, It Is So Complicated Making It That It Is Bound To Be Ugly

Pablo Picasso? Gertrude Stein? Alice B. Toklas? Clement Greenberg? Victor Papanek? Edmund Wilson?

**Portrait of Gertrude Stein by Pablo Picasso circa 1906**

Question for Quote Investigator: Creating innovative artworks is difficult, and pioneering artists face strong opposition. New music is deemed discordant and grating. New architecture is labeled misshapen and impractical. New paintings are considered ugly and maladroit. Apparently, a prominent painter once said:

When you make a thing, it is so complicated making it that it is bound to be ugly.

This remark has been attributed to Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Prominent writer and art collector Gertrude Stein credited Pablo Picasso with this quotation in her 1933 book titled “The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas”. Stein’s book adopted the viewpoint and voice of her friend and life partner Toklas, but Stein was the ultimate author.

The punctuation and phrasing in the book were unconventional because of its stream-of-consciousness style. In the following excerpt, Stein asked Toklas about a recent vernissage which is a private preview of an art exhibition. Toklas criticized two paintings by Picasso. Boldface added by QI:¹

What did you think of what you saw, asked Miss Stein. Well I did see something. Sure you did, she said, but did you see what it had to do with those two pictures you sat in front of so long at the vernissage. Only that Picassos were rather awful and the others were not. Sure, she said, as Pablo once remarked, when you make a thing, it is so complicated making it that it is bound to be ugly, but those that do it after you they don’t have to worry about making it and they can make it pretty, and so everybody can like it when the others make it.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: It’s None of Their Business That You Have To Learn To Write. Let Them Think You Were Born That Way

Ernest Hemingway? Arnold Samuelson? Apocryphal?

**Illustration of a hand writing with a pen**

Question for Quote Investigator: The life of a famous writer is exhaustively scrutinized by academics who attempt to delineate the young scribe’s growth and maturation. Yet, the typical writer does not wish to be placed under a microscope. Apparently, a prominent author once said:

It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.

These words have been attributed to Ernest Hemingway. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Ernest Hemingway died in 1961, and the first published evidence of this remark known to QI appeared in the 1984 posthumous memoir “With Hemingway: A Year in Key West and Cuba” by Arnold Samuelson. In 1934 the nineteen-year-old Samuelson journeyed to Key West, Florida to meet with Hemingway whose works had made a deep impression on the youth. Hemingway needed a deckhand for his fishing boat, The Pilar, and Samuelson accepted the job because he saw an opportunity to have an incomparable literary tutor. He worked with Hemingway for ten months.

Samuelson created a manuscript that recorded his experiences, but it was not published during his lifetime. When he died in 1981 his daughter inherited the document and edited it for publication which occurred in 1984. In the following excerpt Samuelson referred to the acclaimed author as E.H.:¹

When E. H. was in the mood to talk about writing was the happiest time I had, and now he was at the wheel steering over the reef toward Sand Key lighthouse and I stood beside him in the open doorway to the cabins.

Hemingway told Samuelson that his early submissions to magazines were largely rejected. He also described a pivotal event in his genesis. When Hemingway left Paris he placed crucial manuscripts in a suitcase, but the suitcase was misplaced during transit by his wife. Boldface has been added to excerpts:²

I had lost two year’s work, and once I write a thing and get it the way I want it I forget about it and can’t remember it afterward. I didn’t realize it then, but that was the most fortunate thing that could have happened to me, because now the critics don’t know what I wrote first and they can’t trace my development. It’s none of their business that you have to learn to write. Let them think you were born that way.

The above tale was written while the conversation was still fresh in the mind of Samuelson. The accuracy of this anecdote is dependent on the probity of Samuelson and his daughter.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Do Not Try To Explain Something Until You Are Sure There Is Something To Be Explained

Ray Hyman? James Alcock? Jeane Dixon? Murray Rothbard? William Spiller? J. Bricout? R. S. Bailey? Anonymous?

**Illustration of black and red question marks from Pixabay**

Question for Quote Investigator: Remarkable stories of supernatural phenomena are sometimes inaccurate, exaggerated, or fraudulent. The following pertinent saying circulates within the skeptics community:

Do not try to explain something until you are sure there is something to be explained.

Professor of Psychology Ray Hyman often receives credit for this saying which has been called Hyman’s Categorical Imperative, Hyman’s Categorical Directive, and Hyman’s Maxim. Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: A diverse family of statements expresses a similar idea; hence, tracing the provenance is difficult. Here is an overview listing attributions and dates.

1909 Sep: One should not try to explain events as miracles unless the facts require it. (J. Bricout)

1948 Dec: Do not try to explain anything that may be wrong in the first place. (Attributed to William Spiller by Robert Wartenberg)

1957 Oct: Do not try to explain something that may be wrong in the first place. (Attributed to William Spiller by Robert Wartenberg)

1983 Aug: Do not try to explain why something is happening until you have all the facts. (Jeane Dixon)

1990 Jun: One should not try to explain something until it is established as a fact. (Old adage according to R. S. Bailey)

1994: Do not try to explain something until you are sure there is something to be explained. (Attributed to Ray Hyman by James Alcock)

1994 Dec: We should not try to explain something before we are sure there is something that needs an explanation in the first place. (Attributed to Ray Hyman by Marcello Truzzi who cites James Alcock)

1995: Before setting out to explain a problem one must be quite sure that the problem really exists. (Murray Rothbard)

2008 Jul: Before we try to explain something, we should be sure it actually happened. (Attributed to Ray Hyman by Robert Sheaffer who cites James Alcock)

2010: Before setting out to explain something, first make sure that you have something to explain. (Attributed to Ray Hyman by James Alcock)

The statements above are not identical in meaning, but QI believes that grouping them together is natural. Below are details for selected citations in chronological order.

Diet Advice Origin: At a Certain Age, You Have To Choose Between Your Face and Your Behind

Catherine Deneuve? Kathleen Turner? Francoise de la Renta? Carolina Herrera? Ida Jean Kain? Erma Bombeck? Elizabeth Taylor? Meryl Streep? Anonymous?

**Silhouettes of two people at sunset from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: It is common for an individual to gain weight while growing older. Yet, dieting to maintain a slim body can inadvertently produce a face that looks angular or gaunt. Here are three statements which reflect this viewpoint:

(1) When you arrive at a certain age you must choose between your face and your figure.

(2) After 35 you must choose between your face and your behind.

(3) There comes a time when you choose between your face and your ass.

This saying has been attributed to fashion designer Carolina Herrera, French actress Catherine Deneuve, magazine editor Françoise de la Renta, actress Kathleen Turner, fitness columnist Ida Jean Kain, humorist Erma Bombeck and others. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Tracing this family of sayings is difficult because of the wide variety of expressions. Here is an overview listing attributions and dates. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:

1929 Oct 10: She had to choose between keeping her face and her figure (Written by newspaper columnist M. B.)

1952 Apr14: It’s just not true that when a woman arrives at the interesting age of 40 she must choose between her face and her figure (Written by health and fitness columnist Ida Jean Kain)

1973 Oct 24: When you’re past 35, you have to choose between your face and your behind (A French saying according to columnist Phyllis Singer)

1973 Nov 25: When you’re past 35, you have to choose between your face or your behind (A French saying according to designer Francoise de la Renta)

1987: She has to make a choice between her fanny and her face (Written by actress Elizabeth Taylor)

1987 Apr 23: At a certain age, you have to choose between your face and your behind (Direct quotation from fashion designer Carolina Herrera)

1987 Jul 23: At a certain age, you have to choose between your face and your behind (Credited to an unnamed leading fashion designer by humor columnist Erma Bombeck)

1993 Aug 17: After she reached a certain age, she had to choose between her face and her bottom (Credited to French actress Catherine Deneuve by food writer Josceline Dimbleby)

1993 Sep 5: There comes a time when you choose between your face and your ass (Credited to Catherine Deneuve by U.S. actress Kathleen Turner)

2004 Nov 13: After a certain age you can have your face or you can have your ass, it’s one or the other (Credited to Catherine Deneuve by U.S. actress Meryl Streep)

Below are details for selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Programming Occupation Will Become Extinct

Herbert A. Simon? Eric Schmidt? Andrej Karpathy? Apocryphal?

**Abstract representation of computer code from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: The capabilities of artificial intelligence systems continue to grow in 2025. Complex computer programs can now be generated from prompts uttered in English, Chinese, and other natural languages. Here are two predictions separated by sixty-five years:

(1) It is far more likely that the programming occupation will become extinct than that it will become all-powerful

(2) In the next one year the vast majority of programmers will be replaced by AI programmers

Apparently, something like the first remark was written by Herbert A. Simon circa 1960. Simon later won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1978. Also, something like the second statement was spoken by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt in 2025.

Would you please help me to find detailed citations together with accurate phrasings?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1960 Herbert A. Simon was an Associate Dean in the Graduate School of Industrial Administration of Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Simon published an article titled “Management by Machine” in “The Management Review” which included a speculative discussion about management twenty-five years into the future, i.e., in 1985. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

The user of a 1960 computer needs to know less about computer design and operation than the user of a 1950 computer. The manager of a highly automated 1985 factory will need to know less about how things are actually produced than the manager of a 1960 factory.

Similarly, we can dismiss the notion that computer programmers will become a powerful elite in the automated corporation. It is far more likely that the programming occupation will become extinct than that it will become all-powerful. More and more, computers will program themselves, and direction will be given to computers through the mediation of compiling systems. Moreover, the task of communicating with computers will become less and less technical as computers come—by means of compiling techniques—closer and closer to handling the irregularities of natural language.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Dialogue Origin: “When Will This Futuristic System Be Built?” “Ten Years After You’ve Stopped Laughing”

Arthur Kantrowitz? Gerard K. O’Neill? Timothy Leary? Arthur C. Clarke? Anonymous?

**Illustration of an O’Neill cylinder space habitat**

Question for Quote Investigator: Grand futuristic projects such as the following four examples have been greeted with a mixture of hope, excitement, skepticism, and derision:

(1) Laser propulsion systems for spacecraft
(2) Space-based solar power systems
(3) Space habitats with thousands or millions of people
(4) Space elevators on the Earth or the moon

A proponent was asked to give a timeline for the development of one of these advanced technological systems. The reply was ingenious:

You’ll have the result ten years after you’ve stopped laughing.

This statement has been attributed to U.S. physicist Arthur Kantrowitz, U.S. physicist Gerard K. O’Neill, U.S. psychologist Timothy Leary, and English science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI appeared in “The CoEvolution Quarterly” in September 1975. The clever response was attributed to Arthur Kantrowitz by Gerard K. O’Neill.

Kantrowitz was the longtime director of the Avco-Everett Research Laboratory. He and his colleagues made advances in multiple technologies, e.g., supersonic wind tunnel design, magnetohydrodynamic power generation, superconducting magnets, and laser propulsion.¹

O’Neill was a Professor of Physics at Princeton University who pioneered particle storage rings for high-energy physics. He also designed space habitats and advocated for space manufacturing. In 1975 O’Neill was interviewed by editor and entrepreneur Stewart Brand who asked him about the timeline for developing a space habitat housing thousands of people. O’Neill presented the words of Kantrowitz. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:²

Arthur Kantrowitz, the president of AFCO-Everett was out visiting us a few days ago. He happens to be quite enthusiastic about this work, and he says that his answer for things of that kind is to say, “You’ll have the result ten years after you’ve stopped laughing,” which is I think, a pretty good answer.

The most responsible answer I could give is to say that if I really had the responsibility for getting it done by a certain time and the authority to do it in what I would consider the right way, then I would be willing to make a very strong commitment that it could be done in 15 years from time-zero. Whatever that time-zero is.

QI believes this saying should be credited to Arthur Kantrowitz although the evidence is indirect. QI has not yet found a citation containing the quotation directly from Kantrowitz.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: When You Are Up To Your Ass in Alligators, It Is Hard To Remember That Your Original Intention Was To Drain the Swamp

Kansas Cooperative Council? Lance Burr? Betty Hutton? Jim Briggs? John Rankin? Boris Yavitz? Anonymous?

**Picture showing three alligators from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: One encounters numerous obstacles when working toward the completion of an ambitious goal. It is necessary to keep the final objective in mind to make progress. A humorous statement highlights the troubles one must circumvent:

When you are up to your neck in alligators, it is difficult to recall that the first objective was to drain the swamp.

I have also seen a version with “up to your ears”. Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This family of expressions is difficult to trace because of its variability. Here is an overview showing dates. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:

1970 Mar 9: When you are up to your neck in alligators, it is difficult to remind yourself that your initial objective was to drain the swamp. (Attributed to Bob Volk Jr.)

1970 Apr 18: When a man is up to his shirt tail in alligators, he has difficulty reminding himself his initial objective was to drain the swamp.

1970 May 24: When you are up to your ears in alligators, it is difficult to remind yourself that your initial objective was to drain the swamp.”

1970 Jun 25: When you are up to your waist in alligators, it is difficult to remind yourself that your initial objective was to drain the swamp.

1970 Jul 7: When you’re up to your hips in alligators, it’s difficult to remind yourself that the original objective was to drain the swamp.

1970 Jul 8: When you are up to your neck in alligators, it is difficult to remember that the original objective was to drain the swamp!

1970 Sep 23: When you’re up to your ass in alligators, it is difficult to remember that your initial objective was to drain the swamp.

1970 Nov 10: When you are up to your knees in alligators — it is difficult to remember that your original objective was to drain the swamp.

1971 Feb 21: When you are up to your elbows in alligators, it is difficult to remind yourself that your initial objective was to drain the swamp.

1971 Mar 15: When you’re up to your armpits in alligators, it’s very hard to remember that the objective was to drain the swamp.

1971 May 7: When you are, up to your backside in alligators, it is difficult to remind yourself that your initial objective was to drain the swamp.

The earliest full match known to QI appeared in the “Atchison Daily Globe” of Atchison, Kansas on March 9, 1970. The saying was credited to Bob Volk Jr., but QI conjectures that the saying was already in circulation:¹

Bob Volk, jr.: “When you are up to your neck in alligators, it is difficult to remind yourself that your initial objective was to drain the swamp.”

QI also hypothesizes that the original circulating version used the phrase “ass”, but newspapers favored a wide variety of less vulgar terms.

Below are details for selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: I Don’t Think I’ve Really Seen an Anti-War Film. Every Film About War Ends Up Being Pro-War

François Truffaut? Sam Mendes? Steven Spielberg? Gene Siskel? Roger Ebert? Apocryphal?

**Painting of “The Phantom Horseman” by Sir John Gilbert**

Question for Quote Investigator: The excitement, violence, and brutality of films about war often causes confusion in the minds of movie goers. Even when a director’s avowed stance is anti-war the visceral reaction of viewers might be very different. A prominent director once said something like the following. Here are three versions:

(1) I don’t think I’ve really seen an antiwar film. Every film about war ends up being pro-war.

(2) There is no such thing as an anti-war film, because all war films look exciting.

(3) It is impossible to make an “anti-war film,” because any war film, no matter what its message, is sure to be exhilarating.

This notion has been attributed to French New Wave director François Truffaut, but I am skeptical because I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1973 U.S. film critic Gene Siskel interviewed François Truffaut, and Siskel asked about the use of violence in Truffaut’s films:¹

Q.—There’s very little killing in your films. How come?

A.—I find that violence is very ambiguous in movies. For example, some films claim to be antiwar, but I don’t think I’ve really seen an antiwar film. Every film about war ends up being pro-war.

Q.—Even a film like Kubrick’s “Paths of Glory” or his “Dr. Strangelove”?

A.—Yes, I think Kubrick likes violence very much.

After contemplation Siskel found credence in Truffaut’s perspective:

I have thought about Truffaut’s point for the last two weeks, and only now am I beginning to understand and agree with him. In “Paths of Glory,” which so many people consider the strongest antiwar film ever made, the film doesn’t so much condemn war as the French government that thought it necessary to sacrifice its soldiers.

The citation above is the only direct evidence of a statement from Truffaut located by QI at this time. Many other statements have been attributed to Truffaut without support.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Genius, Wit, and Spirit of a Nation Are Discovered in Its Proverbs

Francis Bacon? Samuel Palmer? James Kelly? Anonymous?

**Portrait of Francis Bacon by Paul van Somer I**

Question for Quote Investigator: Valuable insights into cultures may be obtained by studying popular proverbs. The English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon has been credited with the following statement:

The genius, wit, and spirit of a nation are discovered in its proverbs.

I am skeptical of this attribution because I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore the provenance of this remark?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Francis Bacon died in 1626, and the earliest match located by QI appeared many years later in 1710 within the book “Moral Essays on Some of the Most Curious and Significant English, Scotch and Foreign Proverbs” by Samuel Palmer who was a Presbyter of the Church of England. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

It has been observ’d by Great Men, that the Genius, Wit, and Spirit of a Nation, is discover’d by their Proverbs, which shew the Wisdom, Invention and Disposition of the Country either to Virtue or Vice.

Thus, the first citation in 1710 specified an anonymous attribution. Yet, Francis Bacon received credit in 1721 on the title page of the following work: “A Complete Collection of Scotish Proverbs Explained and Made Intelligible To the English Reader” by James Kelly. The word “Scottish” in the title was spelled as “Scotish”:²

The Genius, Wit, and Spirit of a Nation, are discovered by their PROVERBS.
Ld. BACON.

QI does not know why James Kelly credited Bacon. Earlier evidence may exist, but QI has not yet discovered it.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.