Quote Investigator® – Page 63

Quote Origin: Bitcoin Is Probably Rat Poison Squared

Warren Buffett? Charlie Munger? Liz Claman? Becky Quick? Mark Cuban? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The value of bitcoin has fluctuated dramatically. Extreme language has been used to either praise or vilify this prominent digital currency. The superinvestors Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have made harsh pronouncements. Apparently, Munger said bitcoin was rat poison, and Buffett went further and said it was rat poison squared. Would you please help me to find citations?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger have employed a sequence of hostile colorful expressions to decry bitcoin. In May 2013 Fox Business journalist Liz Claman conducted a joint interview with Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett, and Bill Gates. During the interview Munger described bitcoin as rat poison. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Liz Claman: I just had to get your thought on Bitcoin, this… this… this digital currency that’s out there that people say, oh it might be the next big thing. What do you think?

Charlie Munger: I think it’s rat poison.
(Laughter)

Warren Buffet: Put him down as undecided.
(Laughter)

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Don’t ASS-U-ME Anything

Oscar Wilde? Felix Unger? Tony Randall? John Glick? Clarence L. Lollar? Dick West? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Making unfounded assumptions causes endless difficulties. A clever quip highlighting this problem is based on splitting a word into three parts:

It is dangerous to assume because you might make an “ass” out of “u” and “me”.

This joke was told in a episode of the popular television sitcom “The Odd Couple” in 1973. Did the authors of the teleplay create this joke?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared in a 1957 advertisement published in an Espanola, New Mexico newspaper. The advertiser was an automobile insurance provider called the Horace DeVargas Agency, but QI believes the joke was already in circulation, and the attribution should be anonymous. Boldface added to excerpts:¹

. . . I urge you, as a driver, to observe the rules of traffic and highway safety in the operation of your car.

Don’t ass-u-me anything, when you drive because, you’ll make an ass of u and me—ass-u-me.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Comparison Is the Thief of Joy

Theodore Roosevelt? Mark Twain? C. S. Lewis? Dwight Edwards? John Powell? Ray Cummings? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Comparing your status to others often produces envy and unhappiness. Here are four instances from a family of pertinent adages:

Comparison is the thief of joy.
The thief of joy is comparison.
Comparison is the death of joy.
Comparison is the death of contentment.

Statesman Theodore Roosevelt, humorist Mark Twain, author C. S. Lewis, and religious figure Dwight Edwards have all been given credit for sayings in this family. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has located no substantive evidence supporting ascriptions to Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and C. S. Lewis. Tracing this family is difficult, and this article presents a snapshot of current research. The statements above are not semantically identical, but QI believes that this grouping is natural.

The earliest match located by QI appeared in the 1989 book “Happiness Is an Inside Job” by John Powell. This instance referred to self-contentment and not joy. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

“Why can’t you be like that. ” “Why don’t you do as well as your brother?” “If you comb your hair down, people won’t notice your big forehead. You’ll look more presentable.”

And so most of us have been taught to compare ourselves with others. And all the professionals agree: Comparison is the death of true self-contentment.

The earliest match using “comparison” and “thief of joy” located by QI appeared in the 2003 religious book “Are You Following Jesus Or Just Fooling Around?!” by Dr. Ray Cummings. He discussed three thieves of joy. The first thief was bitterness; the second thief was complaining, and the third thief was comparison:²

A third thief of joy is comparison. When Satan can’t make you bitter enough to complain, he will seek to lower your self-esteem and allow you to compare.

The 2004 religious book “Connect2God: Instant Messages from God to Teens” by Curt Cloninger included an exact match for the popular modern version of the saying. Cloninger disclaimed credit:³

Somebody once said that comparison is the thief of joy. In other words, if you’re always comparing yourself to other people, then you’ll never be happy.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Bicycle Riding, If Persisted In, Leads To Weakness of Mind, General Lunacy, and Homicidal Mania

The New York Times? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator A major U.S. newspaper supposedly published an article that claims riding a bicycle inevitably leads to general lunacy and homicidal mania. This assertion sounds satirical. Does this article actually exist?

Reply from Quote Investigator: On August 12, 1894 “The New York Times” published an article titled “Lunacy in England” about bicycle riders. The piece was filled with comical exaggerations, and QI believes that it was intended to be humorous. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Still, there is not the slightest doubt that bicycle riding, if persisted in, leads to weakness of mind, general lunacy, and homicidal mania. In the opinion of one of the ablest and most experienced of British lunatics, the habit of watching the revolution of the forward wheel develops in the mind of the bicycle rider a tendency to reason in a circle.

Below are additional excerpts and a conclusion.

Quote Origin: The Lecture Is an Obsolete Practice Dating From the Middle Ages When Books Were Scarce

Virginia Woolf? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Apparently, the prominent English writer Virginia Woolf thought that transmitting knowledge via lectures was a “vain and vicious system”. She also stated that lecturing was “an obsolete practice dating from the Middle Ages”. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Virginia Woolf published the book-length essay “Three Guineas” in 1938. She firmly expressed her disapproval of providing instruction by delivering a speech to an audience. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

If we are asked to lecture we can refuse to bolster up the vain and vicious system of lecturing by refusing to lecture.

Woolf elaborated on her point in the “Notes and References” section at the end of the book. She admitted that many subjects could only be taught with diagrams and personal demonstration. Yet, lectures upon English literature were unjustified:²

. . . it is an obsolete practice dating from the Middle Ages when books were scarce.

Further, Woolf contended that lecturing boosted undesirable psychological traits:

. . . eminence upon a platform encourages vanity and the desire to impose authority.

Also, the practice was inefficient for students and teachers:

. . . after the age of eighteen to continue to sip English literature through a straw, is a habit that seems to deserve the terms vain and vicious; which terms can justly be applied with greater force to those who pander to them.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Greatest Shortcoming of the Human Race Is Man’s Inability To Understand the Exponential Function

Albert A. Bartlett? William Dillinger? Paul A. Tipler? David Suzuki? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: What do the following have in common: computing power, internet communication traffic, human population, energy use? Each has experienced exponential growth. The full implications of such rapid changes are difficult to grasp. A scientist has asserted that the incomprehension of exponential growth is humankind’s most serious flaw. The consequences of obliviousness could be disastrous. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1976 physicist Albert A. Bartlett published a piece in “The Physics Teacher”. He was concerned about the environmental costs of unrestrained growth. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Here is the theme of our presentation:

The greatest shortcoming of the human race is man’s inability to understand the exponential function.

Bartlett wanted physicists to use their knowledge to inform fellow citizens and decision makers:

Physics students and teachers have a great responsibility,

1. to understand the problems and perils of growth, and then
2. to alert the public to these problems and perils, even if this means taking issue with the “experts.”

The best decisions are those made by an enlightened public. It is our task as students and teachers to help roll away the darkness.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Conditions Are Never Just Right

William Feather? John R. Gunn? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: When commencing a significant new endeavor in life it is tempting to wait until conditions are perfect, but that never occurs. Delays are often the result of indecisiveness, fear, or procrastination. Yet, one must move forward. The successful publisher and printer William Feather expressed the situation concisely:

Conditions are never just right.

Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1928 “The Warren Tribune” newspaper of Pennsylvania published remarks from William Feather who described conversing with a man hoping to start a new enterprise. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

“But he really wanted to have his own company, and the reason why he hasn’t is because he waited for conditions to get just right.

“Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable are the kind who do nothing.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: As Long As I Count the Votes, What Are You Going To Do About It?

William Marcy Tweed? Boss Tweed? Thomas Nast? Zack Chandler? Napoleon Bonaparte? Joseph Stalin? Boris Bazhanov? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Remarks about the manipulation of vote tabulations have a long history. Apparently, a corrupt leader made a cynical pronouncement about voting. Here are three versions:

Let me count the votes, and I care not who casts them.
It’s not who votes that matters but who counts the votes.
Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the votes decide everything.

Would you please explore this family of sayings?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The viewpoint of this saying can be expressed in many different ways which makes it difficult to trace.

The earliest match known to QI appeared in October 1871 within a single-panel work by influential cartoonist Thomas Nast depicting politician William Marcy Tweed standing next to a ballot box. Tweed was known by the nickname Boss Tweed because of his political power and wealth. Nast titled his cartoon “THAT’S WHAT’S THE MATTER”, and he placed the following derisive words into the mouth of Tweed. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Boss Tweed. “As long as I count the Votes, what are you going to do about it? say?”

It is unlikely that Tweed actually made this statement because it implied that his political operatives planned to illegally modify the election results. Instead, Thomas Nast should receive credit for crafting this remark.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: People Ask You for Criticism, But They Only Want Praise

W. Somerset Maugham? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: Often a request for criticism is really an appeal for approval or accolades. English playwright and novelist W. Somerset Maugham made a similar observation. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In 1915 W. Somerset Maugham published the popular novel “Of Human Bondage”. The main character Philip Carey wished to be a successful painter, and he asked another artist, Mr. Clutton, to evaluate his work, but Clutton declined with the following explanation. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

“People ask you for criticism, but they only want praise. Besides, what’s the good of criticism? What does it matter if your picture is good or bad?”
“It matters to me.”

Clutton elaborated on his reasoning for not examining Carey’s painting:

“No. The only reason that one paints is that one can’t help it. It’s a function like any of the other functions of the body, only comparatively few people have got it. One paints for oneself: otherwise one would commit suicide.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: I Love Criticism as Long as It Is Unqualified Praise

Noel Coward? Frank Sinatra? Margaret McManus? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The popular English playwright Noel Coward apparently once suggested that he welcomed any amount of criticism as long as it was unqualified praise. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In January 1956 Noel Coward was interviewed by journalist Margaret McManus who asked him about his recent appearance in Las Vegas. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

“It was a great success, so naturally I loved it,” he said. “If I hadn’t been a success I’d probably have blamed it on the scenery. I’d have said, ‘I hate it here.’”
“I always say I love criticism as long as it is unqualified praise.”

In March 1957 a columnist writing in “The Londonderry Sentinel” of Northern Ireland credited Coward with a different phrasing of the quip. QI believes he employed both versions:²

Said Noel Coward: “I can take any amount of criticism as long as it is unqualified praise.”

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.