No, Einstein Did NOT Say That.
Poor Albert. The ONE quote everyone gets right (”E=MC squared”), no-one understands: and half the other stuff attributed to him, he never actually said.
Like, for example:
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
The most recent perpetuator of this foul canard is the otherwise estimable Dr. Dawg, a favourite here at the bunker, who uncritically passes it along from its source at Maxwell’s Blog.
Now, I have seen this “thought” attributed over the years to Mark Twain, Benjamin Franklin, Sigmund Freud, Rita Mae Brown, Rudyard Kipling, Tony Robbins – AND, of course, Albert Einstein. While I have no way of proving that Einstein never said this, I feel reasonably comfortable in asserting that it did not originate with him. I say this for two reasons.
a) It’s a silly statement. This is NOT a definition of insanity, or anything close to one. It is an amusing formulation of the banal thought: “Isn’t it odd that people don’t learn from experience”.
b) No-one has ever actually found the place where Einstein is alleged to have said this – no document, speech, letter, scribble on blackboard, nothing, nowhere.
As far as I can tell, the source is Alcoholics Anonymous: it occurs, unsourced, in much of their literature, including the “Big Book”: and it certainly has the ring of one of their aphorisms.
Aaaack! Yes, it sounded smart, so I didn’t even think to question the Einstein attribution.
Sheesh. So much for “brainyquote.” And many other sources, too. Not one names a primary source.
Doesn’t augur well for my thesis.
Of course, we don’t know that Einstein didn’t say it either. But that’s weak.
From WikiAnswers, another possible source:
That is often incorrectly attributed to Benjamin Franklin or Albert Einstein. In fact, it is a quote from a 1980s mystery novel (called “Sudden Death”) by Rita Mae Brown. Sorry, folks – there’s no great genius behind this one.
How dare you question Rita Mae Brown’s genius?
Jerry Falwell never said that Teletubby was gay either. Sarah Palin never said Africa wasn’t a continent. You repeat something enough it becomes fact. Truth is irrelevant as long as it provides a good sound bite.
Dr. Phil says it now and then, so I associate it with him.
Sorry for the confusion… The quote certainly has been attributed to both Franklin and Einstein. I had heard it somewhere and, when I Googled it, Einstein’s name popped up.
Regardless, despite what you say, it does have profound meaning — especially in the context of what is going on in Gaza.
Best Einstein quote ever: “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
How true, how true. Sigh.
I do obsess about these things to an unhealthy degree, so I located a digital copy of the AA Big Book over the weekend and searched. Couldn’t find the quote, but I still think AA is a more likely ORIGINAL source than Rita Mae Brown. Do we have any drunks in the audience with other digital AA literature?
I always loved,
“My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.”