Education Is What Remains After You Have Forgotten Everything You Learned In School

Albert Einstein? B. F. Skinner? Edouard Herriot? C. F. Thwing? Ralph Waldo Emerson? Agnes F. Perkins? James Bryant Conant? E. F. L. Wood? George Savile? Lord Halifax? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: My question concerns a provocative aphorism about memory, schooling, and curriculum. Here are four example statements that can be grouped together: 1) Culture is …

Play Is the Highest Form of Research

Albert Einstein? Neville V. Scarfe? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A marvelous quotation about play is attributed to the most brilliant scientist of the modern age, Albert Einstein: Play is the highest form of research. I would like to include this statement in a paper I am writing, but I have not been able to find …

The Difference Between Stupidity and Genius Is That Genius Has Its Limits

Albert Einstein? Alexandre Dumas, fils? Elbert Hubbard? Brooks F. Beebe? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: The following funny saying is usually attributed to Albert Einstein: The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits. Yet, no one provides any justification for crediting the brilliant scientist with this jest. Is this another fake Einstein …

The Secret to Creativity Is Knowing How to Hide Your Sources

Albert Einstein? C. E. M. Joad? Nolan Bushnell? Coco Chanel? Conan O’Brien? Franklin P. Jones? Charles Moore? Bruce Sterling? Joe Sedelmaier? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I have a difficult challenge for you. Here are three versions of a popular maxim: 1) The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources. 2) Creativity is …

Media Coverage

Researching quotations is fascinating and challenging. The mission of this website is to provide information that is current, thorough, novel, intriguing, and very carefully documented. Detailed supporting citations appear at the end of every article. Top news and entertainment organizations have recognized these qualities. Here are some examples referencing QI research: Snopes: On January 22, …

I Would Spend 55 Minutes Defining the Problem and then Five Minutes Solving It

Albert Einstein? A Yale Professor? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The importance of laying the proper groundwork before attempting to solve a problem is emphasized in a popular statement that is usually attributed to the scientific luminary Albert Einstein. Here are three versions: If I had only one hour to save the world, I would spend …

Common Sense Is Nothing More Than a Deposit of Prejudices Laid Down in the Mind Before Age Eighteen

Albert Einstein? Lincoln Barnett? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Albert Einstein’s astonishing theory of relativity is highly counter-intuitive. For example, the theory indicates that time can pass at different rates in different reference frames. This certainly challenges common sense. The following germane statement is attributed to Einstein: Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by …

Anyone Who Doesn’t Take Truth Seriously in Small Matters Cannot Be Trusted in Large Ones Either

Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: My University has an Academic Integrity Office which has launched a poster campaign that includes an image of Albert Einstein together with the following statement which has been ascribed to the brilliant physicist: Anyone who doesn’t take truth seriously in small matters cannot be trusted with large ones either. …

It Is the Responsibility of Every Human Being To Aspire To Do Something Worthwhile

Albert Einstein? Armand Hammer? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: A hospital in Rhode Island has a display in the main lobby listing the names of generous donors. The following quotation attributed to Albert Einstein is also printed on the display: It is the responsibility of every human being to aspire to do something worthwhile, to make …

The Two Most Common Elements in the Universe Are Hydrogen and Stupidity

Harlan Ellison? Frank Zappa? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a popular quotation that expresses the following idea: Hydrogen and stupidity are the two most abundant materials in the universe This notion can be expressed in many different ways. One version has been credited to the SF writer Harlan Ellison, and another version has been …