Albert Einstein? Bernice Bede Osol? Eugene Raudsepp? François de La Rochefoucauld? Dale Carnegie? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following words are often credited to the scientific genius Albert Einstein: Creativity is contagious. Pass it on. I cannot find a good citation. What do you think? Quote Investigator: There is no substantive evidence that Einstein wrote …
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Only One Man Ever Understood Me, and He Did Not Understand Me Either
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel? Heinrich Heine? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel had a major influence on later schools of thought including Marxism and existentialism. Yet, critics have complained of his unintelligibility. One colorful anecdote claims that Hegel made the following pronouncement on his deathbed: Only one man ever understood …
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The Pleasure Is Momentary, the Position Is Ridiculous, the Expense Is Damnable
Lord Chesterfield? Hilaire Belloc? D. H. Lawrence? George Bernard Shaw? Alexander Duffield? W. Somerset Maugham? Elliot Paul? Samuel Hopkins Adams? Benjamin Franklin? P. D. James? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Lord Chesterfield reportedly crafted an outrageously humorous description of intimate relations. I’ve seen different versions that each comment on pleasure, position, and expense. Yet, I …
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Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results
Albert Einstein? Al-Anon? Narcotics Anonymous? Max Nordau? George Bernard Shaw? Samuel Beckett? George A. Kelly? Rita Mae Brown? John Larroquette? Jessie Potter? Werner Erhard? Dear Quote Investigator: It’s foolish to repeat ineffective actions. One popular formulation presents this point harshly: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting …
Creativity Is Intelligence Having Fun
Albert Einstein? George Scialabba? Joey Reiman? John C. Maxwell? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: An invigorating comment about creativity is often credited to the universally recognized scientific genius Albert Einstein: Creativity is intelligence having fun. Are these really the words of Einstein? Quote Investigator: There is no substantive evidence that Einstein who died in 1955 made …
Men Marry Women with the Hope They Will Never Change. Women Marry Men with the Hope They Will Change
Albert Einstein? H. M. Harwood? R. Gore-Browne? John Conwell? Estelle Getty? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Did Albert Einstein’s genius extend from physics to psychology? The following remark has been ascribed to him: Men marry women with the hope they will never change. Women marry men with the hope they will change. Invariably they are both …
I Am Only a Public Entertainer Who Has Understood His Times
Pablo Picasso? Giovanni Papini? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Pablo Picasso reportedly admitted in a “Confession” that he did not consider himself a great artist; instead, he was an entertainer who shocked and amused the rich and indolent to gain fame and wealth. Did Picasso really say this? Quote Investigator: No. The well-known “Confession” was invented …
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Education Is Not the Learning of Facts, But the Training of the Mind To Think
Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: A learner may accumulate a large number of miscellaneous pieces of information without achieving an integrated understanding and without acquiring an ability to use the material intelligently. Reportedly, Albert Einstein made a germane remark: Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of minds to think. …
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If You Think Education Is Expensive, Try Ignorance
Derek Bok? Ann Landers? Char Meyers? Robert Orben? John Lubbock? P. B. de La Bruère? Rev. S. C. Morris? Charles Duncan Mclver? Albert Einstein? Barack Obama? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The cost of attending college has been increasing more rapidly than the rate of inflation for decades in the U.S. Students and parents have been …
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Let Us Be More Ashamed of Shabby Ideas and Shoddy Philosophies
Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently, the dress sense of a leading British politician was criticized, and his sharp rejoinder was based on a quotation attributed to Albert Einstein contrasting the relative importance of shabby clothes versus shabby ideas. Would you please examine the provenance of this statement? Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence of …
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