Ben Shoemate - Web Architect - Latest Comments in Einstein never said that…

Re: Einstein never said that…

Greg Harlston — Mon, 13 Apr 2015 18:13:20 -0000

At this point, who should I credit for the misattributed version? I like it. I liked it a little more when it was attributed to Einstein. However, there's a reason so many people use that quote. Part of its popularity must go to Einstein but part of its appeal has to be because it rings true. Whether Einstein or Popeye the Sailor said it, there is real meaning and wisdom in those words.

Re: Einstein never said that…

homasapiens — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 18:35:38 -0000

It ought to be Harpo Marx.

Re: Einstein never said that…

Pras — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 08:15:32 -0000

Keep up the good work, much appreciated!

Re: Einstein never said that…

Reconix — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 13:44:38 -0000

lol, I know this is old but I started doing the very same thing you were doing and came across this post, still none the wiser.

Re: Einstein never said that…

SidelongGlance — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 11:12:29 -0000

Did Einstein say that too?!

Re: Einstein never said that…

SidelongGlance — Sun, 17 Nov 2013 11:10:34 -0000

You're right to be. Vasty amounts of bull or out of context quotes used to prove that Dead Famous Person X supports one's own politics or religion.

Re: Einstein never said that…

Alfem — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 07:22:19 -0000

is yours that quote ? I think Asimov said that before :-)

Re: Einstein never said that…

benshoemate — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 14:37:50 -0000

You're right - the quote in that form does not appear in print until 2000 (according to a search of Google Books - http://bit.ly/13cMQ5B ). He might have said it though, the phrase "rational thought" is term philosophers use to distinguish pure thought experiments, from real world observational experiments. In addition, you scientists and people who think about the process of creative, innovative discovery often cite the importance of being completely wrong-headed in your thinking in order to muster the confidence to trace an idea to its logical conclusion and stumble on a new discovery.

The thought captured in the quote is explored in detail here - http://books.google.com/boo...

Here is a tip, don't search for "Einstein" and the quote. Instead, search for the quote or part of the quote and see if you can find the real source or earliest reference to it. Quotes morph over time, usually becoming simpler. Let's call it the Einstein Principle: Any idea from any scientist in the 20th century will eventually be attributed to Einstein.

I would check out physicist's Fritjof Capra as the source of that quote. He wrote the book the "The Tao of Physics".

"The uncertainty principle puts both artist and scientist in the same boat, demonstrating that a complete understanding of physical reality through the process of rational thought is, in principle, impossible. As physicist Fritjof Capra puts it, 'at the present level of science... mysticism or the perennial philosophy provides the most consistent philosophical background toto all scientific theories.'

I'm pretty sure if someone as famous as Einstein had said it, someone would have used it before the year 2000. There are hundreds of books on the nature of science, rationalism, the mind, and creativity that would LOVE a quote like that written before 2000.

In my brief search I found passages by John Locke, Nietzsche Ayn Rand, and many others. If the original source exists, you might find it here: http://bit.ly/14VDfSo

Re: Einstein never said that…

Rich Cook — Sat, 27 Jul 2013 12:21:34 -0000

I'm here due to the same quote making the rounds right now. I'm pretty sure Einstein used rational thinking in his discoveries, so it seems unlikely he said that one. I agree it's disturbing when someone attributes malarky to a genius of rationality like Einstein.

Re: Einstein never said that…

Paul Caporino — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:54:38 -0000

Einstein also never said "You gotta be shitting me!"

Re: Einstein never said that…

Morgan Mcintire — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 13:32:44 -0000

I read this quote on my school website today and was immediately suspicious. I'm not sure if you are still actively investigating this after more than four years. but if you ever do figure anything out I'm interested

Re: Einstein never said that…

Gundula — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 08:42:52 -0000

Weird or what!?! I just needed some scrap paper and came across an old essay of mine (1992, yes, I am a 'keeper'). The quote struck me as really good, I wanted to know more - and landed here. Unfortunately, the bibliography page has gone... but the name I have is John Higgins, and (from another footnote) it is possible that my quote came from a book called Language, Learners and Computers (1988).
What I also think is quite funny is the fact that there are so many different forms of the same quotation. Mine is quite sober and academic (no 'incredibles' or 'marriages'), but simply: "It has been said that the computer is fast accurate and stupid. Humans are slow, inaccurate and brilliant. When we are able to combine these effectively, te results will be unimaginable." The "it has been said..." suggests that Higgins, too, had a problem about the source.

Re: Einstein never said that…

remo — Sat, 22 Dec 2012 15:20:44 -0000

Great work! I hate people that put false quotation in their post! Thank you very much.

Re: Einstein never said that…

George — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 15:56:52 -0000

Well done. Nothing annoy's me more than some flippant one liner dream't up by the user. In my case a friend of mine on 'Facebook' posted the horrid quote just this morning. Much to my displeasure. Every thing in my conscious being screamed out in pain the moment I read it! Followed by further disgust as I saw the number of 'Likes' it received.

One poster, whom I do not know, commented "Einstein is my hero he said the best things ever. But this is my fave."

To which I could not resist but post the following...“It's foolishness is evident at first glance."

But I don't think she got it?

Re: Einstein never said that…

Drew Kadel — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:42:57 -0000

Librarians constantly run into this... there is a striking quote ... somebody tweaks it a little to make it more like what they like, then it is attributed to someone, usually famous, or relevant to what somebody thinks the quote is about. These things unravel all the time once somebody looks for proper attribution. But I was looking this one up because of the dust up over the resume of the CEO of Yahoo. He went to Stone Hill College--check out the top of their computer science page!

Re: Einstein never said that…

Jointe — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:26:39 -0000

Wonderful! I myself also was quite annoyed by the fact that the quote most likely was not by einstein and some fools hade set about befouling his name with wrongful quoatation (smitten be thee by the lord!)

Jokes set aside, good work. I applaude you.

Re: Einstein never said that…

Bill — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 14:47:21 -0000

Einstein, Jefferson, and Confucius stole all their quotes from Oscar Wilde.

Re: Einstein never said that…

vinu nair — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 23:19:32 -0000

I did the google for the same reason as you did.. Thankfully hit ur post!!

Good research..

Re: Einstein never said that…

PMtonelete — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:16:25 -0000

I, for one, like quoting from authors I've read and yes, big people too. I really admire your research to find truth on this seemingly simple matter. If only everyone was as critical about truth and as inquisitive as you are then maybe we'd have better politicians holding offices, better house hold products, healthier food choices... yah, pretty much a better world in an macroscopic note. Hope you do find the real author, I think that would be a treat.

Re: Einstein never said that…

Andrew Kolstee — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 19:54:01 -0000

Excellent research. I saw this on a Google Einstein Quote of the Day and I wondered about that and came across this.

Re: Einstein never said that…

benshoemate — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 19:46:28 -0000

Every day the google books library is getting bigger, so hopefully we will eventually solve this mystery. Unfortunately, unless it turns
out Confucius actually said, people are likely to keep attributing it to Einstein. I think the pattern is this:

If it sounds like a fortune cookie - Confucius said it. If it sounds like science - Einstein said it. If is sounds political it was Thomas Jefferson. Eventually the the public will consolidate all knowledge and wisdom to a quote by a single person. I'd really like to be that person.

Re: Einstein never said that…

hypnosifl — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:27:09 -0000

Nice research! Searching google books just for the words "computers", "fast", "accurate", and "stupid" (since this seems to be common to all variants found so far) and restricting the date range to before 1968, I found what I think may be the original origin of the saying--an article titled "Problems, Too, Have Problems" from the October 1961 issue of Fortune magazine. A snippet from p.53 of The Current I found here quotes the Fortune article as saying "Man is a slow, sloppy, and brilliant thinker; computers are fast, accurate, and stupid." A little more searching reveals the article was written by someone named John Pfeiffer, and I found two other early sources from 1962 that credit Pfeiffer with the observation that computers are fast/accurate/stupid (I put the links in the entry for this quote in the "Talk" section of the Einstein wikiquote page--the "Talk" section has a lot of other supposed Einstein quotes that need to be sourced or debunked, and the Einstein page itself has a lot of false quotes in the "Misattributed" section).

Re: Einstein never said that…

Sigi — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:33:27 -0000

Just heard the quote today listening to a keynote talk - and also could not believe that it was attributed to Einstein. Hence I came across this page and would like to express my respect for your accurate work! Well done.

Re: Einstein never said that…

MDH — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:17:25 -0000

Well done - I saw this whilst installing BlogJet too - and like you was suspicious of its validity. As you say misquoting to somehow strengthen their case. Would it be churlish of me to un-install their trial and never buy it...?

Re: Einstein never said that…

L. T. Fang — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 20:23:38 -0000

I saw this quote attributed to Einstein and immediately became suspicious. Einstein died when computer was still at its infancy, and Einstein never grew up with it. It would be kinda odd for Einstein to say that.
Not to mention Einstein's more famous quotes attributes stupidity to humans, not brilliance!
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."