Tracing Quotations
Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Einstein famously constructed a foundational equation about energy: E = mc². Apparently, he also fashioned a less-well-known humorous formula about success in life using the terms A, X, Y, and Z. Did Einstein actually craft this quasi-mathematical joke? Quote Investigator: In 1929 Albert Einstein was interviewed by Samuel J. …
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Albert Einstein? Truman Twill? Lyndon B. Johnson? Laurence J. Peter? Paul A. Freund? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Many sayings attributed to the scientific genius Albert Einstein concern the mind. Here is a funny example: If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign? I …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Albert Einstein? Apocryphal? Dear 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. I …
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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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Albert Einstein? Walter Isaacson? J. Benson Hamilton? Charles Haddon Spurgeon? Dorothy Tucker? William Whiting? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous physicist Albert Einstein reportedly used a wonderful simile that compared riding a bicycle with living successfully. Here are three versions: Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. People are …
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Albert Einstein? Théophile Gautier? Alexis de Valon? Samuel Taylor Coleridge? Helena Blavatsky? Dr. Paul F.? Heidi Quade? Bonnie Farmer? Charlotte C. Taylor? Doris Lessing? Nicolas Chamfort? Horace Walpole? Dear Quote Investigator: The following statement is attributed to the brilliant physicist Albert Einstein: Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous. I have been unable to find …
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