Quote Investigator® – Page 7 – Tracing Quotations

Quote Origin: I Would Rather Have Questions That Can’t Be Answered Than Answers That Can’t Be Questioned

Richard Feynman? Daniel Dennett? J. J. Hahn? Arthur
Bloch? Apocryphal? Anonymous?

**An island with foliage shaped like a question mark from Pixabay**

Question for Quote Investigator: Here are two instances from a family of sayings about questions and answers:

(1) Philosophy is questions that may never be answered. Religion is answers that may never be questioned.

(2) I would rather have questions that can’t be answered than answers which can’t be questioned.

The first item has been attributed to the prominent philosopher Daniel Dennett, and the second item has been credited to the notable theoretical physicist Richard Feynman. I have been unable to find solid citations, and I have become skeptical. Would you please help me to trace these sayings?

Reply from Quote Investigator: Daniel Dennett did include the first saying above in his 2006 book “Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon”; however, Dennett specified an anonymous attribution, and the saying was already in circulation by 1995.

QI and other researchers have not found any substantive evidence that Richard Feynman employed the second saying above. Feynman died in 1988, and he received credit by 2014. QI conjectures that the second saying evolved from the first saying.

The earliest match for the first saying located by QI appeared in the Usenet newsgroup alt.atheism on January 16, 1995 within a message posted by J. J. Hahn whose e-mail address indicated an affiliation with the University of Minnesota. Hahn placed the saying in a signature block; hence, it occurred in many of their messages. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Philosophy is questions that may never be answered.
Religion is answers that may never be questioned.

J. J. Hahn is the primary candidate for creator of this saying although it is possible Hahn was simply repeating an expression that was already circulating.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: A Work of Art That Contains Theories Is Like an Object on Which the Price Tag Has Been Left

Marcel Proust? Alexander Pope? Frederick A. Blossom? Sydney Schiff? Apocryphal?

**Illustration of a price tag from Pixabay**

Question for Quote Investigator: A prominent literary figure disapproved of intellectual works filled with abstract discourse and archetypal characters. The critique was expressed as follows:

A work of art that contains theories is like an object on which the price tag has been left.

This statement has been attributed to the French novelist Marcel Proust and the English poet Alexander Pope? Would you please help me to determine the correct author together with a solid citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has found no substantive evidence supporting the ascription to Alexander Pope who died in 1744.

Marcel Proust is best known for the multivolume work “A la recherche du temps perdu” (“Remembrance of Things Past” or “In Search of Lost Time”). The seventh and final volume in this series was “Le Temps retrouvé” (“Time Regained” or “Finding Time Again”) published in 1927 which contained the following passage:¹

D’où la grossière tentation pour l’écrivain d’écrire des œuvres intellectuelles. Grande indélicatesse. Une œuvre où il ya des théories est comme un objet sur lequel on laisse la marque du prix. Encore cette dernière ne fait-elle qu’exprimer une valeur qu’au contraire en littérature le raisonnement logique diminue.

Below is a translation by Frederick A. Blossom from an edition published in 1932:²

From this comes the vulgar temptation for the writer to write intellectual works. A grave lack of fine feeling! A book in which there are theories is like an article from which the price mark has not been removed. And even at that, a price mark merely expresses value, whereas in literature logical reasoning lessens it.

Here are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The Hottest New Programming Language Is English

Andrej Karpathy? Apocryphal?

Question for Quote Investigator: The capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) systems have dramatically improved in recent years. One important challenge for AI has been the synthesis of computer programs based on English language descriptions. Apparently, a prominent AI researcher said:

The hottest new programming language is English

Would you please help me to find a citation for this remark?

Reply from Quote Investigator: On January 24, 2023 AI researcher Andrej Karpathy tweeted the following. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

The hottest new programming language is English

Andrej Karpathy is best known for co-founding the OpenAI company and working on computer vision for the autopilot system at Tesla.

In conclusion, Andrej Karpathy deserves credit for this statement which he tweeted in 2023.

Image Notes: Screen displaying computer code. The image has been cropped and resized.

Social Network: X/Twitter, Handle: Andrej Karpathy @karpathy, Timestamp: 3:14 PM – Jan 24, 2023. link ↩︎

Quote Origin: The Important Thing Is Not to Stop Questioning. Curiosity Has Its Own Reason for Existence

Albert Einstein? William Miller? Apocryphal?

**Illustration of the James Webb Space Telescope from NASA**

Question for Quote Investigator: A famous scientist once stated that it was important to never stop questioning because curiosity has it own reason for existing. I do not recall the exact phrasing. This notion has been attributed to physicist Albert Einstein. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: “LIFE” magazine editor William Miller visited Albert Einstein at his home in Princeton, New Jersey and interviewed him. Miller’s piece appeared in the May 2, 1955 issue of “LIFE” shortly after Einstein’s death in April 1955. Miller asked Einstein about curiosity. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend only a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Adage Origin: A Small Individual Casts a Long Shadow When the Sun Is Setting

Lin Yutang? Venita Cravens? Walter Savage Landor? Andrew Marvell? Anonymous?

**Picture of a person casting a shadow from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: Exceptional individuals accomplished remarkable feats in past ages. Unhappy critics complain that the current period lacks great figures. The talents and achievements of popular people nowadays are diminutive. Here are two versions of a pertinent metaphorical adage:

(1) Little men throw long shadows because our sun is setting.
(2) When small men cast big shadows the sun is about to set.

This saying has been attributed to English writer Walter Savage Landor, Chinese linguist Lin Yutang, and U.S. theater promoter Venita Cravens. I am having trouble finding a good citation. Would you please help?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match found by QI appeared in a work published by Walter Savage Landor in 1846. Landor wrote a series of “Imaginary Conversations” between prominent historical figures. The 1846 work depicted a fictional discussion between English poet Andrew Marvell and English Bishop Samuel Parker. Marvell criticized contemporary figures, and Parker asserted that Marvell’s judgement was too harsh. “Marvell” was spelled as “Marvel”. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Parker. Ever too hard upon great men, Mr. Marvel!

Marvel. Little men in lofty places, who throw long shadows because our sun is setting: the men so little and the places so lofty, that, casting my pebble, I only show where they stand. They would be less contented with themselves if they had obtained their preferment honestly.

This saying has been expressed in many different ways. QI believes that the diverse phrasings evolved from the statement written by Walter Savage Landor.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: Luck Is the Residue of Design

Branch Rickey? John Milton? Alexander Pope? Anonymous?

Question for Quote Investigator: Confident people believe that luck is really controlled by human action. Religious people believe that luck is actually controlled by divine action. Here is a pertinent adage:

Luck is the residue of design.

This statement has been credited to prominent U.S. sports executive Branch Rickey and major English poet John Milton. I cannot find a good citation. Are either of these ascriptions accurate? Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest close match known to QI appeared in the “Lexington Leader” newspaper of Kentucky in 1915. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

Branch Rickey, manager of the St. Louis Browns, and one of the best known base ball men in the country, spoke to the State University Y.M.C.A. last night …

He gave a number of examples to demonstrate his point, and luck, he said, had no place in the lexicon of life, for there was no such thing as luck. Luck, he pointed out, is the residue of design and is governed by causes which are generally in the power of the man himself to govern.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: There Are Only Two Ways of Telling the Complete Truth — Anonymously and Posthumously

Susan Ohanian? Thomas Sowell? Anonymous?

**Tombstone engraved with the word “Unknown”**

Question for Quote Investigator: Social media is rife with conflict. Comments about sensitive topics produce incendiary responses. I am reminded of this mordant insight:

There are only two ways of telling the complete truth—anonymously and posthumously.

U.S. economist Thomas Sowell and U.S. teacher Susan Ohanian have received credit for this remark. Would you please help me to find a citation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: In July 1985 Thomas Sowell published a column containing a long list of quips and adages which included the following three items. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

There are only two kinds of schools — those that keep up with the latest educational trends and those that teach.

There are only two ways of telling the complete truth — anonymously and posthumously.

There are only two kinds of gamblers — those who say they have lost more than they have won and those who lie about it.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: It Is a Miracle That Curiosity Survives Formal Education

Albert Einstein? Paul Arthur Schilpp? Marilyn Ferguson? Apocryphal?

**Picture of chairs in a lecture hall from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: An overly rigid approach to education is counter-productive because it extinguishes natural inquisitiveness. This viewpoint has been expressed as follows:

It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.

The famous physicist Albert Einstein has received credit for this remark, but I have never seen a solid citation, and I have become skeptical. Would you please trace this quotation?

Reply from Quote Investigator: QI has not found an exact match for this statement in the writings of Albert Einstein; however, there is a close match. Einstein penned a short autobiography which appeared in the 1949 book “Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist”. The book included Einstein’s original German text together with an English translation by Paul Arthur Schilpp. Here is the pertinent passage in both English and German. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

It is, in fact, nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wreck and ruin without fail.

Es ist eigentlich wie ein Wunder, dass der moderne Lehrbetrieb die heilige Neugier des Forschens noch nicht ganz erdrosselt hat; denn dies delikate Pflänzchen bedarf neben Anregung hauptsächlich der Freiheit; ohne diese geht es unweigerlich zugrunde.

QI believes that the concise modern statement evolved from Einstein’s sentence given above. Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: It’s Not That I’m So Smart, It’s Just That I Stay With Problems Longer

Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Anonymous?

**Picture of jumbled puzzle pieces from Unsplash**

Question for Quote Investigator: Solving a difficult problem requires hard work for an extended period. To reinforce this viewpoint people enjoy sharing the following humble remark which has been attributed to Albert Einstein:

It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.

I have been unable to find a solid citation, and I have become skeptical of this ascription. Is this another fake Einstein quotation? Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The evidence supporting the ascription to Albert Einstein is not substantive. Alice Calaprice, the editor of the important 2010 collection “The Ultimate Quotable Einstein” from Princeton University Press, placed this quotation in the “Probably Not by Einstein” section of her reference.¹

Albert Einstein died in 1955. The earliest match known to QI appeared in the 1996 compilation “Bite-Size Einstein: Quotations on Just About Everything from the Greatest Mind of the Twentieth Century” edited by Jerry Mayer and John P. Holms which contained this entry on page seventeen:²

It’s not that I’m so smart; it’s just that I stay with problems longer.

Unfortunately, the editors did not provide a citation. Hence, QI does not know where the editors found the quotation.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.

Quote Origin: The First Hundred Years Are the Hardest

Wilson Mizner? Thomas Aloysius Dorgan? Tad Dorgan? Bill Downing? Wilton Lackaye? Clare Briggs? Anonymous?

**Detail from 1918 comic by Thomas Aloysius Dorgan**

Question for Quote Investigator: The initial stages of activities can be quite challenging. This hardship is reflected in following saying: the first year is the hardest. When the required period of endurance is extended to multiple years the saying becomes more outlandish and comical. A wit concocted this extreme statement:

The first hundred years are the hardest.

This saying has been credited to U.S. playwright Wilson Mizner and U.S. cartoonist Thomas Aloysius Dorgan, also known as Tad. Would you please explore this topic?

Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest match located by QI appeared within a one panel comic by Thomas Aloysius Dorgan in January 1918. A small dog in the lower right of the panel utters the following line. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:¹

WELL, AS BILL DOWNING SAYS THE FIRST 100 YEARS ARE THE HARDEST

QI is unsure of the identity of Bill Downing. Multiple people shared that name in the U.S. in 1918. Perhaps Downing was one of Dorgan’s friends.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.