Tracing Quotations
Jean-Luc Godard? Ansel Adams? Richard Roud? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: When you create a photograph or film your intentions should be well defined. Here are three pertinent statements which may be grouped together: (1) There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept. (2) There’s no point in having a sharp …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: There’s No Point in Having Sharp Images If You’ve Got Fuzzy Ideas”
F. Scott Fitzgerald? Aubrey Grey? Harriett G. Hancock? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A smile can raise the spirits of oneself and others. This thought has been conveyed as follows: It was only a sunny smile, and little it cost in the giving, but like morning light, it scattered the night and made the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: It Was Only a Sunny Smile, and Little It Cost in the Giving”
Mark Twain? Humphry Davy? Robert G. Ingersoll? Cato the Elder? Hugh M‘Neile? Cassius Marcellus Clay? Thomas Fuller? Question for Quote Investigator: A person of great merit may not receive any recognition while an unworthy person may receive numerous accolades. This perverse disconnection has inspired the following ethical stance: It is better to deserve honors and …
Tom Waits? Steve Allen? John Prine? Dorothy Parker? Fred Allen? Carlton W. Berenda? Herb Caen? Lew London? Joshua Baer? Dr. Rock? Randy Hanzlick? Graffito? Question for Quote Investigator: The following wordplay is popular with drinking enthusiasts. Here are two versions: (1) I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy. (2) …
Ilya Sutskever? Blaise Agüera y Arcas? Yann LeCun? Blake Lemoine? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Apparently, a top researcher in artificial intelligence (AI) controversially suggested in early 2022 that contemporary digital neural networks employed in AI systems might be “slightly conscious”. Would you please help me to find a citation? Reply from Quote Investigator: Ilya …
Continue reading “It May Be That Today’s Large Neural Networks Are Slightly Conscious”
Gertrude Stein? Ernest Hemingway? Hotel Keeper? Automobile Repair Shop Owner? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Would you please explore the provenance of the following expression? Here are two versions: You are all a lost generation. You are all a génération perdue. The phrase “lost generation” has been applied to young people who experienced the repercussions …
John Waters? Austin Kleon? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Building a library is an enjoyable lifelong pursuit. Intellectually engaged people are often bibliomaniacs. Yet, many acquired volumes are never read. This behavior has been condemned and praised in two radically different statements that differ by a single word: (1) Nothing is more impotent than an unread …
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Marshall McLuhan? Ashley Montagu? Edmund Carpenter? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan contemplated the influences of different types of media on human thought and behavior. He said that television was a cool medium because it was high in participation, whereas radio was a hot medium with low participation. He formulated the adage: …
W. C. Fields? Clifford Terry? Corey Ford? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous comedian W. C. Fields apparently told a hilarious joke about whiskey. Here are three versions: (1) I always carry a flask of whisky in case of snake bite. I also carry a small snake. (2) I like to keep a bottle of …
Fred Rogers? Mister Rogers? Joanne Rogers? Mary Lou Kownacki? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: One empathetic thinker suggested that it was possible to love almost anyone once one heard their full story. This notion has been attributed to U.S. television host Fred Rogers who was best known by the appellation “Mister Rogers”, but I have been …
Continue reading “There Isn’t Anyone You Couldn’t Love Once You’ve Heard Their Story”