Martin Luther King Jr.? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: While reading about the economics of health care I came across the following statement attributed to the famous civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.: Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane. A writer at “The Huffington Post” …
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Every Child Is an Artist. The Problem Is How to Remain an Artist Once He or She Grows Up
John Lennon? Pablo Picasso? Carleton Noyes? Percy Mackaye? Dudley Crafts Watson? Agnes Snyder? Ricky Gervais? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: When a child is supplied with paint, clay, paper, and scissors he or she will experiment and construct images and figures. The artistic impulse is strong in the early years of life, but sadly it is …
Most Dangerous Phrase: We’ve Always Done It That Way
Grace Murray Hopper? Apocryphal? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Grace Murray Hopper was a pioneering computer scientist whose work was central to the development of COBOL, one of the foundational high-level programming languages. She worked in a very fast moving technological domain where simply attempting to repeat previously successful strategies was sometimes disastrous. I am trying …
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Relativity: A Hot Stove and A Pretty Girl
Albert Einstein? Helen Dukas? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Albert Einstein was asked to explain the abstruse theory of relativity so many times that he reportedly created a comical illustration involving a hot stove and a pretty girl. Would you please explore the provenance of this tale? Quote Investigator: The earliest evidence located by QI was …
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Creativity Is Allowing Yourself to Make Mistakes. Art Is Knowing Which Ones to Keep
Scott Adams? Ricky Gervais? Douglas Adams? Anonymous? Quote Investigator: Using creativity to solve a problem or create an artwork requires openness, originality, and imagination. Yet, the process inevitably produces some missteps and gaffes. That is why the following is my favorite quotation: Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to …
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 …
Goal of Education: Create People Who Are Capable of Doing New Things, Not Simply of Repeating What Other Generations Have Done
Jean Piaget? Eleanor Duckworth? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following popular quotation appears on a large number of websites in the educational domain. The statement is attributed to the famous developmental psychologist Jean Piaget: The principal goal of education in the schools should be creating men and women who are capable of doing new things, …
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 …
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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, …
The Enemy of Art Is the Absence of Limitations
Orson Welles? Henry Jaglom? Mildred Pitts Walter? Dom Hofmann? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The brilliant movie director Orson Welles has been credited with a fascinating statement about the construction of artworks in the presence of constraints. When a performer or creator faces a limit such as a tight budget for a production then creative thought …
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