# Falsely attributed to Einstein
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [February 16, 2019, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654 "2019-02-16T06:38:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 16
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2019, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/1 "2019-02-16T06:38:59Z")
I get irritated by all the memes on social media with quotations falsely attributed to Einstein. Probably the most common mis-attribution is the one about a fish riding a bicycle. I get that Einstein lends a certain gravitas to a statement, but it’s still dishonest, and it deprives the real author of whatever is his or her due, such as it may be.
So here’s a quotation I keep running into that seems like another false attribution. Yet I can’t find the source:
> [@](#):
>
> Art is standing with one hand extended into the universe and one hand extended into the world, and letting ourselves be a conduit for passing energy.
Nothing in there sounds like Einstein. Does anyone know who actually said it? Can I state unequivocally and accurately that Einstein _didn’t_ say this?
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### Author:  [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2019, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/2 "2019-02-16T06:53:35Z")
[Christina Baldwin](https://books.google.com/books?id=orBqCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA453&lpg=PA453&dq=Art+is+standing+with+one+hand+extended+into+the+universe+and+one+hand+extended+into+the+world,+and+letting+ourselves+be+a+conduit+for+passing+energy.+christina+baldwin&source=bl&ots=BKyWvaP02U&sig=ACfU3U1TjYFHm0oFJn-6jFOudOug4uwf0w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi2163B1L_gAhXEx4MKHSxvBeoQ6AEwAnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=Art%20is%20standing%20with%20one%20hand%20extended%20into%20the%20universe%20and%20one%20hand%20extended%20into%20the%20world%2C%20and%20letting%20ourselves%20be%20a%20conduit%20for%20passing%20energy.%20christina%20baldwin&f=false)
> [@](#):
>
> **Spiritual love** is a position of standing with one hand extended into the universe and one hand extended into the world, letting ourselves be a conduit for passing energy.
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### Author:  [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2019, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/3 "2019-02-16T06:57:21Z")
Swift and accurate! Thank you!
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### Author:  [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2019, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/4 "2019-02-16T13:09:14Z")
As Ben Franklin said, don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
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### Author:  [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2019, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/5 "2019-02-16T13:46:00Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#):
>
> As Ben Franklin said, don’t believe everything you read on the internet.
That was Abraham Lincoln.
[Cite](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7011403-don-t-believe-everything-you-read-on-the-internet)
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### Author:  [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2019, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/6 "2019-02-16T19:24:52Z")
Nobody seems to know who actually said this, but I’ve always seen it attributed to Einstein:
“Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world.”
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### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/7 "2019-02-16T20:10:28Z")
Sounds more like JP Morgan.
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### Author:  [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)
#### Post date: [February 16, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/8 "2019-02-16T20:53:10Z")
> [@Flyer](#):
>
> Nobody seems to know who actually said this, but I’ve always seen it attributed to Einstein:
> “Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world.”
Often attributed to [Paul Samuelson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Samuelson). He did [say it](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=qx0ka3S7Y3cC&pg=PA110&lpg=PA110&dq=Paul+Samuelson+%22eighth+wonder%22++%22compound+interest.%22&source=bl&ots=cs9R_PSnd1&sig=ACfU3U24auBhAsRbcOJsqbrSbLhSFcDW4A&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjj94PujsHgAhUt2OAKHUApAMQQ6AEwAnoECAMQAQ#v=onepage&q=Paul%20Samuelson%20%22eighth%20wonder%22%20%20%22compound%20interest.%22&f=false), but he was quoting an existing saying.
I’ve found it as early as [1928](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8Y4eAQAAMAAJ&q=%E2%80%9CCompound+interest%22++%22eighth+wonder%22&dq=%E2%80%9CCompound+interest%22++%22eighth+wonder%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwik2orcjMHgAhUhSBUIHZtABOYQ6AEIKDAA), and that too seems to be quoting an existing saying.
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/9 "2019-02-17T06:50:30Z")
I’d like to have a nice bicycle. ☹
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/10 "2019-02-17T06:52:58Z")
> [@Flyer](#):
>
> Nobody seems to know who actually said this, but I’ve always seen it attributed to Einstein:
> “Compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world.”
The “Einstein version” I always encountered was “compounding is the most powerful force in the world”, usually by some financial pundit writing a money advice article on investment.
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### Author:  [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/11 "2019-02-17T07:16:30Z")
[Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein) is a good resource in general.
It gives verified Einstein quotations, and has a section of misattributed quotations.
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### Author:  [@Didactylos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Didactylos)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/12 "2019-02-17T13:01:47Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#):
>
> [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein) is a good resource in general.
>
> It gives verified Einstein quotations, and has a section of misattributed quotations.
The fake Einstein quote that bugs me the most is the one about “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. Glad to see it’s on the list as definitely fake.
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### Author:  [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/13 "2019-02-17T19:13:58Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#):
>
> [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein) is a good resource in general.
>
> It gives verified Einstein quotations, and has a section of misattributed quotations.
Slightly surprised to see that
_I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones._
makes the cut as verified (but perhaps not original)
j
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### Author:  [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)
#### Post date: [February 17, 2019, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/14 "2019-02-17T22:55:47Z")
The fake Einstein quote I’ve always seen is indeed about a fish but it’s not exactly as the OP phrased it. It is:
“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.”
I’ve always disliked this, because everybody is _not_ a genius. Regardless of whether or not Einstein said it - and I doubt he would ever say that “everybody is a genius” - it’s bullshit.
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### Author:  [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)
#### Post date: [February 20, 2019, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/15 "2019-02-20T21:04:44Z")
If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live.
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### Author:  [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)
#### Post date: [February 21, 2019, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/falsely-attributed-to-einstein/829654/16 "2019-02-21T00:41:56Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#):
>
> I’ve found it as early as [1928](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=8Y4eAQAAMAAJ&q=%E2%80%9CCompound+interest%22++%22eighth+wonder%22&dq=%E2%80%9CCompound+interest%22++%22eighth+wonder%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwik2orcjMHgAhUhSBUIHZtABOYQ6AEIKDAA), and that too seems to be quoting an existing saying.
“Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new after all.”
― Abraham Lincoln
🙂