Quote Investigator® – Page 43

Joke Origin: Optimist: The Glass Is Half Full. Pessimist: The Glass Is Half Empty. Comedian: The Glass Is the Wrong Size

Steve Martin? George Carlin? Terry Pratchett? O. J. Anderson? Davis Merritt Jr.? Tom Page? Allen Klein? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Different attitudes towards life are vividly illustrated by divergent reactions to a partially filled glass:

Optimist: The glass half full
Pessimist: The glass is half empty

A third humorous category is sometimes added to the two categories above. Here are some examples:

Realist: The glass is too big
Comedian: The glass is simply the wrong size
Engineer: The glass is twice as big as it needs to be

Would you please explore the history of this extended joke?

Reply from Quote Investigator: If readers wish to learn about the original simple bipartite split then they should follow this link to a separate QI article on the topic.

The family of sayings which presents a comical tripartite split is difficult to trace because the family is highly variable.

The first match located by QI appeared in the “Fort Lauderdale News” of Florida in 1977. An unnamed sports writer used an instance while describing a college football player named O.J. Anderson who emphasized the positive. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Optimists say the water glass is half full. Pessimists claim that it is half empty. O.J. Anderson would probably say the water is really overflowing except you can’t tell because the glass is too big. That’s how much of a positive thinker Anderson is.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Maxim Origin: Optimist: The Glass Is Half Full. Pessimist: The Glass Is Half Empty

Josiah Stamp? Vivian F. Rausch? David Dodge? Hugh Overman? Ted Healy? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Life impressions differ dramatically between people with sunny dispositions versus morose temperaments. This point is cleverly illustrated via the disparate reactions elicited by a container partially filled with liquid:

The optimist says the container is half full.
The pessimist says the container is half empty.

Variants of this saying refer to different containers, e.g., a bottle, a glass, and a gas tank. Josiah Stamp who was the director of the Bank of England has received credit for this expression, but I have not seen a solid citation. Would you please explore the provenance of this proverbial saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI appeared in “The Evening Sun” of Baltimore, Maryland in April 1929. The statement occurred in a filler item without attribution. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

If he says his gas tank is half-full he’s an optimist. If he says it’s half-empty he’s a pessimist.

Based on current evidence the originator remains anonymous.

Josiah Stamp helped to popularize this witty comparison by using it during a speech he gave in 1935, but the saying was already in circulation.

Below are selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: For Reasons I Have Never Understood, People Like To Hear That the World Is Going To Hell

Deirdre N. McCloskey? Eduardo Porter? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Their are always powerful reasons to be pessimistic. News headlines about brutal warfare, callous crime, and environmental degradation predominate on a continuous electronic scroll of doom.

Yet, there are also reasons to be optimistic. The global rate of extreme poverty has declined and longevity has increased. Medical advances occur every day. A prominent Professor of Economics remarked that many people inexplicably prefer to “hear that the world is going to hell”. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 2014 economist Deirdre N. McCloskey of the University of Illinois at Chicago published a book review in “Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics” containing the following passage. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

During the pretty good history of 1800 to the present the economic pessimists on the left have nonetheless been subject to nightmares of terrible, terrible failures.

Admittedly, such pessimism sells. For reasons I have never understood, people like to hear that the world is going to hell, and become huffy and scornful when some idiotic optimist intrudes on their pleasure. Yet pessimism has consistently been a poor guide to the modern economic world. We are gigantically richer in body and spirit than we were two centuries ago.

Below are two more citations and a conclusion.

Quote Origin: Everything Is Connected To Everything Else

Barry Commoner? Gotthold Ephraim Lessing? Leonardo da Vinci? Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.? John Muir? Jean Piaget? Daniel Patrick Moynihan? Solomon Short? David Gerrold? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The universe reflects a pervasive interconnectedness. Here are two versions of a pertinent adage:

Everything is connected to everything else.
Everything connects to everything else.

Ecological thinkers have used this as a guiding principle. Would you please explore the provenance of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI believes that this notion probably occurred in the mind of a primordial philosopher, but this article will center on written expressions from prominent figures.

This adage has often been attributed to the Italian Renaissance genius Leonardo da Vinci who died in 1519, but QI has only found citations for this linkage in recent decades, and this evidence is not substantive.

In 1769 German dramatist and philosopher Gotthold Ephraim Lessing published “Hamburgische Dramaturgie” (“The Hamburg Dramaturgy”) which contained a match. Below is an English translation¹ followed by the original text in German. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:²

In nature everything is connected, everything is interwoven, everything changes with everything, everything merges from one into another. But according to this endless variety it is only a play for an infinite spirit. In order that finite spirits may have their share of this enjoyment, they must have the power to set up arbitrary limits, they must have the power to eliminate and to guide their attention at will.

In der Natur ist alles mit allem verbunden; alles durchkreuzt sich, alles wechselt mit allem, alles verändert sich eines in das andere. Aber nach dieser unendlichen Mannigfaltigkeit ist sie nur ein Schauspiel für einen unendlichen Geist. Um endliche Geister an dem Genusse desselben Anteil nehmen zu lassen, mußten diese das Vermögen erhalten, ihr Schranken zu geben, die sie nicht hat; das Vermögen abzusondern und ihre Aufmerksamkeit nach Gutdünken lenken zu können.

Below are selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: If My Mind Can Conceive It and My Heart Can Believe It, Then I Know I Can Achieve It

Jesse Jackson? Napoleon Hill? Muhammad Ali? Armand J. Gariepy? Ralph L. Berry? Tennyson Guyer? Orlando K. Fitzsimmons? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: A popular collection of affirmations have been constructed with these three rhyming words: conceive, believe, and achieve. Here are three examples:

(1) Achieve anything you can conceive and believe.
(2) Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
(3) If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I know I can achieve it.

The first two statements have been attributed to self-help author Napoleon Hill, and the third has been credited to political activist Jesse Jackson. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This family of expressions has been evolving for more than one-hundred years. The earliest instances used just two of the three words.

Statements 1 and 2 above were used by Napoleon Hill’s self-help organization in 1952 and 1954, respectively. Statement 3 was employed by Jesse Jackson in 1978.

The following items with dates present an outline of the evolution:

1906: What man can conceive, man can achieve (Anonymous)
1928: Those who believe they can achieve the object of their definite chief aim do not recognize the word impossible (Napoleon Hill)
1937: The mind could produce anything the mind could conceive and believe (Napoleon Hill)
1952: Learn how to achieve anything you can conceive and believe (Napoleon Hill Advertisement)
1954: Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve (Napoleon Hill Associate)
1955 Jan: You can achieve anything that your mind can conceive providing you believe it (Armand J. Gariepy)
1955 Oct: Whatever you can believe you can conceive and achieve (Attributed to Napoleon Hill)
1956: Anything you can conceive or believe, you can achieve (Ralph L. Berry)
1958: Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve (Napoleon Hill)
1959: Three little words: conceive, believe, achieve (Tennyson Guyer)
1978: If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I know I can achieve it (Jesse Jackson)
2001: If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it (Attributed to Muhammad Ali)

Below are selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: What Man Can Conceive, Man Can Achieve

Robert Owen? Elbert Hubbard? Orlando K. Fitzsimmons? Sidney Abram Weltmer? O. A. Hawkins? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: An optimistic rhyming maxim highlights the enormous potential for positive accomplishments. Here are three versions:

(1) What humanity can conceive, humanity can achieve.
(2) What man can conceive, man can achieve
(3) Man can achieve what man can conceive

Would you please explore this adage?

Reply from Quote Investigator: This saying is difficult to trace because it can be expressed in several different ways. The prominent social reformer and socialist Robert Owen employed an instance in the 1845 edition of his treatise “The Book of the New Moral World Containing the Rational System of Society”. Owen emphasized the need for charity, wisdom, and kindness. His book contained a partial match. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

It is this spirit and language of truth which must pervade the whole mass and the entire of society, before man can conceive what man can achieve, or society united can accomplish.

Owen used a conditional phrasing. He believed that the principles he extolled would produce a society in which mankind’s positive conceptions would be achieved.

In 1906 a full match for the saying appeared in “Metamorphose: Involving Regeneration of Individual and Race, and Also the Solution of the Great Problem of Poverty” by Orlando K. Fitzsimmons:²

If the conditions existing in the fabled Golden Age can be conceived in the mind of man as a definite Idea, he can attain unto those conditions!

The motto of the new Order is: WHAT MAN CAN CONCEIVE, MAN CAN ACHIEVE.
The Change is at hand!

No attribution is specified for the saying above, and QI believes that currently the originator remains anonymous.

Here are selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: You Have Enemies? Good. That Means You’ve Stood Up For Something, Sometime In Your Life

Winston Churchill? Victor Hugo? Thomas Jefferson? Jules Sandeau? Charles Mackay? Elminster of Shadowdale? Ed Greenwood? William J. Robinson? Jim Bunning? Eminem? Anonymous?

Silhouette of a person balancing on a rock from Unsplash

Question for Quote Investigator: If you become prominent and influential then you will inevitably face detractors. If you take tough stances on major issues then you will encounter adversaries. The British statesman Winston Churchill has received credit for the following expression:

You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.

I am skeptical of this attribution because I have been unable to find a solid citation. This notion has also been credited to U.S. President Thomas Jefferson and French novelist Victor Hugo. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence that Winston Churchill made this remark. He died in 1965, and he received credit many years later in 2002. Churchill quotation expert Richard M. Langworth was unable to find a citation. He placed this saying into an appendix titled “Red Herrings” of his indispensable compilation “Churchill By Himself: In His Own Words”.¹

Thematic matches did appear in the writings of Thomas Jefferson and Victor Hugo, but these quotations were not close matches.

A partial match occurred in 1915 in several newspapers in Iowa and Nebraska. The attribution was anonymous.

The earliest close match found by QI appeared in an “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons” fantasy book in 1993.

See below for selected detailed citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Never Blame the Booster for What the Sucker Does

Damon Runyon? W. C. Fields? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: The famous Broadway show “Guys and Dolls” was based on stories and characters from the pen of journalist Damon Runyon. Apparently, he was once asked about his favorite motto, and he presented the following:

Never blame the booster for what the sucker does.

Would you please help me to find a citation? Also, would you clarify the meaning of this saying?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1939 Damon Runyon published a syndicated newspaper column under the title “The Brighter Side”.¹ He credited the motto to a fictional character, “our old man”, in a piece he wrote on May 15th. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:²

Our old man used to have a motto that he had printed out himself in big letters pasted on the wall of his bedroom. It read: NEVER BLAME THE BOOSTER FOR WHAT THE SUCKER DOES. It was one of his favorite sayings, too.

He said it meant that you should never hold a fellow responsible for the consequences of an effort to do you a nice turn. He said many of his own troubles in life had come from getting the blame from friends he was only trying to help …

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Programming Is a Skill Best Acquired by Practice and Example Rather Than From Books

Alan Turing? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The best way to learn computer programming is by seeing examples, writing code, and executing programs. Trying to learn solely through a book is quite difficult. This viewpoint has been credited to the pioneering computer scientist Alan Turing.

I am uncertain about this attribution because Turing died in 1954, and early computer languages like Fortran and Cobol were created after this date. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: When Alan Turing was at the University of Manchester in England in 1951 he wrote the first manual for programmers which he titled “Programmers’ Handbook for Manchester Electronic Computer Mark II”. Digital scans of all the pages of the manual are available at the website of “The Turing Archive for the History of Computing”.¹

A section titled “Programming Principles” begins with the following statements. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:²

Programming is a skill best acquired by practice and example rather than from books. The remarks given here are therefore quite inadequate.

If it is desired to give a definition of programming, one might say that it is an activity by which a digital computer is made to do a man’s will, by expressing this will suitably on punched tapes, or whatever other input medium is accepted by the machine. This is normally achieved by working up from relatively simple requirements to more complex ones.

In 1951 the computer at the University of Manchester was programmed directly using machine code. High-level programming languages like Fortran and Cobol were created later in the 1950s.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Dear Sir (Or Madam), You May Be Right

H. L. Mencken? Jack Dempsey? Peg Bracken? Bennett Cerf? Alexander Woollcott? Stewart Holbrook? William Safire? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Forceful newspaper columnists often receive opinionated and hostile responses. There is a powerful temptation to send a sharp retort. Yet, one famous journalist typically replied with a brief disarming note:

Dear Sir (or Madam ),
You may be right.

Would you please help me to determine the name of this columnist and locate a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest citation QI has found for this tale appeared in a letter dated November 23, 1942 which was sent from U.S. drama critic Alexander Woollcott to U.S jurist Felix Frankfurter. Woollcott described a tactic he had acquired from prominent journalist H. L. Mencken of Baltimore, Maryland. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

However, I learned from H. L. Mencken a happy formula for answering all controversial letters. He invented one which is final, courteous and can be employed without reading the letter to which it replies. He merely says: “Dear Sir (or Madam): You may be right.”

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order. The 1964 citation further below is particularly intriguing because it provides strong support for this tale.