Tracing Quotations
Bertrand Russell? Sheldon? John Ruskin? Woods Hutchinson? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Cantankerous individuals who believe they are surrounded by an ignorant and unthinking public sometimes proclaim: People would rather die than think. This statement has been enhanced with a funny addition that reinvigorates the cliché. Here are two versions: Many people would sooner die than …
Continue reading “Most People Would Die Sooner Than Think—In Fact, They Do So”
Bertrand Russell? Neil Postman? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The relationship between language and thought is complex. The famous philosopher Bertrand Russell held the provocative belief that some thoughts could not exist without language. I believe I read this assertion in a book Russell wrote, but I have not been able to relocate the apposite passage. …
Bertrand Russell? Ayn Rand? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Recently, while reading my Facebook feed I saw a graphic from a major media organization (The Economist) that displayed a picture of the influential philosopher Bertrand Russell coupled with the following quotation: I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong. Are these really …
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Bertrand Russell? Frank P. Hobgood? Jessie Woodrow Wilson Sayre? Reader’s Digest? Montreal Star? Andrew Carnegie? Winston Churchill? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: A piquant slogan has been used by pacifists and peace activists for decades. Here are two variants: War does not determine who is right — only who is left. The atom bomb will never …
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William Butler Yeats? Bertrand Russell? Charles Bukowski? Question for Quote Investigator: Have you ever been absolutely certain about a fact and later determined that you were completely wrong? If you learn from that experience you become less arrogant and more empathetic. I wish more people would achieve this form of personal growth. Here are three …
Continue reading “The Best Lack All Conviction While the Worst Are Full of Passionate Intensity”
Warren Buffett? Samuel Johnson? Maria Edgeworth? Bertrand Russell? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I recall seeing a lecture by the famed investor Warren Buffett during which he cautioned his audience to avoid falling into self-destructive behavior patterns. He used this eloquent analysis: The chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too …
George Bernard Shaw? Bertrand Russell? Oscar Wilde? John H. Gibbons? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following quotation is used by speakers who are planning to project a series of slides that are filled with statistics. The words are credited to the famous dramatist and intellectual George Bernard Shaw. Here are two versions: The sign of …
Continue reading “It Is the Mark of a Truly Intelligent Person To Be Moved By Statistics”
Bertrand Russell? William Butler Yeats? Eden Phillpotts? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I adore the following quotation which is attributed to the philosopher Bertrand Russell: The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper. But recently I saw a different version in which two words had been changed: The world …
Bertrand Russell? William James? Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.? Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.? Dear Quote Investigator: The eminent philosopher Bertrand Russell discussed visions and experiences in his major opus “A History of Western Philosophy” in 1945. Russell noted that subjective experiences were not always reliable:[ref] 1945, A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, Book One, …
Continue reading “Secret of the Universe: A Strong Smell of Turpentine Prevails Throughout”
George Bernard Shaw? Winston Churchill? Groucho Marx? Max Aitken? Mark Twain? W. C. Fields? Bertrand Russell? Dear Quote Investigator: There is a famous story about sex and money that I have heard in myriad variations. A man asks a woman if she would be willing to sleep with him if he pays her an exorbitant …