Alexander von Humboldt – Quote Investigator®

Quote Origin: Three Stages of Discovery: First, They Deny It Is True; Second, They Deny It Is Important; Third, They Deny It Is New

Alexander von Humboldt? Voltaire? Samuel Eliot Morison? Timothy Ferris? Bill Bryson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Time is required for a society to fully comprehend and accept a major discovery. Resistance to a breakthrough occurs in a series of phases. Here are two versions of a cogent saying: Three degrees of doubt: First, deny the …

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Quote Origin: When Colombus Promised a New Hemisphere, All Said That It Could Not Exist. When He Found It, All Said It Had Been Known Long Before

Voltaire? Abraham Hayward? Alexander von Humboldt? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: The resistance to new ideas is tenacious. Yet, there is a breathtaking reversal in attitude once a new idea is established. The philosopher Voltaire has received credit for presenting the following example regarding Christopher Columbus. When the explorer proposed an expedition to reach a new …

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Adage Origin: Truth Passes Through Three Stages: First, It Is Ridiculed. Second, It Is Violently Opposed. Third, It Is Accepted As Self-Evident

Arthur Schopenhauer? Charles Lyell? Louis Agassiz? J. Marion Sims? Alexander von Humboldt? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: True statements and ideas are often not recognized initially; instead, the process of acceptance is long and circuitous. One popular adage highlights three stages for the recognition of truth: The prominent German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer is usually credited …

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