Have You Ever Been Curious If Einstein Actually Said That Quote About The Genius Fish?

By | 2014-02-15

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Anyone who has ever spent a moment on Whispering Randomness can’t have possibly avoided noting “A little intriguing wordsmithery” in the right column of each and every page.

Those aren’t randoms from a popular ‘quote of the day’ email or keyword search site like BrainyQuote, GoodReads, EduroThe Quotations Page or The Quote Factory. Every single one of the quotes shown have had an impact on me personally. For several years, I have made it a point to save them. This just so happens to be the place I wound up translocating all 200+ quotes from my various lists.

Back to the topic of Einstein quotes. We’ve all heard something on the internet and think to ourselves ‘seriously?’. On occasion, I do take a little time to verify the source of quotations, especially when they’re someone noteworthy or of high intelligence, like Einstein.

Over time, I’ve encountered quite a few quotes that weren’t actually from the source provided. Case in point, just this morning I was about to post a note on my social media networks referring to a quote I think about often:

What one thing can you start counting today that will actually be meaningful in your life?- Chip Conley, Ted Talk: Measuring what makes life worthwhile', Feb. 2010

Ongoing change in my life has had me counting things I do, see and have. I was looking for an additional point to refer to  – rather than just blurting out the quote. I found this one:

A simple search to validate this yielded a curiosity. QuoteInvestigator.com, ferreted out so much history on related statements that I have to believe their analysis. There are several potential sources, but the quote can most likely be attributed to William Bruce Cameron, author, humor columnist and fellow American Mensan.

In hindsight, I decided to check a few other quotes I have shared here, some of which I’ve been led by the internet to believe were Einstein’s.

What is significant in one’s own existence one is hardly aware, and it certainly should not bother the other fellow. What does a fish know about the water in which he swims all his life?- Albert Einstein
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.- William Bruce Cameron, (often attributed to Einstein)
If you can’t explain a concept to a 6 year-old, you don’t fully understand it.- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.- Albert Einstein (1879-1955), German-American physicist
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.- Albert Einstein
Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.- Albert Einstein
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.- Albert Einstein
I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.- Albert Einstein
Creativity is intelligence having fun- Albert Einstein
Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.- Albert Einstein
I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.- Albert Einstein
If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.- Albert Einstein
Any fool can know. The point is to understand.- Albert Einstein
We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.- Albert Einstein
Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.- Unknown, (often attributed to Einstein)
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.- Albert Einstein
I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.- Albert Einstein

After further validation, I’ll eventually update the author of those deemed questionable. As of now, I know for a fact not all of these are attributable to Einstein.

Which do you think he didn’t say?

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