# Origin of "Experiment vs. Expert Opinion" quote? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 28, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815 "2009-12-28T17:30:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815/1 "2009-12-28T17:30:34Z")
I’ve often used my favorite quote, “One experiment is worth a thousand expert opinions,” and I’ve attributed it to Thomas Edison. Recently, however, I went looking for other pithy Edison quotes to keep it company. Imagine my surprise at \*not \*finding that quote in the list of known Edison quotations! A Google search showed that the quote is well used on the web, frequently attributed to that great thinker, “Unknown,” but occasionally attributed to others (Werner von Braun, Neil Armstrong, etc.). Does anyone know the Straight Dope on the origin of this quote? My credibility in my business and teaching work hangs in the balance. Thanks, gang!..TRM ---
**Author:** ![pan1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@pan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pan1)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815/2 "2009-12-28T18:41:32Z")
Werner Von Braun: “One experiment conducted with the help of thousands of enslaved untermenschen, for whose suffering and death I am directly responsible, is worth a thousand expert opinions” ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815/3 "2009-12-29T01:26:47Z")
> [@pan1](#): > > Werner Von Braun: > “One experiment conducted with the help of thousands of enslaved > untermenschen, for whose suffering and death I am directly > responsible, is worth a thousand expert opinions” Can you give a credible cite as to that? Date, source? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815/4 "2009-12-29T01:59:16Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Can you give a credible cite as to that? Date, source? I’m assuming that was meant as a joke. I may have stumped the panel with my question! ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815/5 "2009-12-29T02:15:38Z")
> [@pan1](#): > > Werner Von Braun: > “One experiment conducted with the help of thousands of enslaved > untermenschen, for whose suffering and death I am directly > responsible, is worth a thousand expert opinions” > [@samclem](#): > > Can you give a credible cite as to that? Date, source? > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I’m assuming that was meant as a joke. I may have stumped the panel with my question! **pan1** is pretty smart and doesn’t offer “joke” posts, at least not that I’ve seen. My question was quite serious. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815/6 "2009-12-29T02:17:45Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I’ve often used my favorite quote, “One experiment is worth a thousand expert opinions,” and I’ve attributed it to Thomas Edison. Recently, however, I went looking for other pithy Edison quotes to keep it company. Imagine my surprise at \*not \*finding that quote in the list of known Edison quotations! > > A Google search showed that the quote is well used on the web, frequently attributed to that great thinker, “Unknown,” but occasionally attributed to others (Werner von Braun, Neil Armstrong, etc.). > > Does anyone know the Straight Dope on the origin of this quote? My credibility in my business and teaching work hangs in the balance. Thanks, gang!..TRM I seriously don’t think it’s a quote from before the 1960s-70s. That’s just from a quick look. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815/7 "2009-12-30T00:29:57Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I seriously don’t think it’s a quote from before the 1960s-70s. That’s just from a quick look. The quote is at least from March of 1897, because if you look at the [March 1897 edition of “Book News”](http://books.google.com/books?id=q-MRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA368&lpg=PA368&dq=%22one+experiment+is+worth+a+thousand+expert+opinions%22&source=bl&ots=8gmE8Vf1fe&sig=9xrDf82k9SNGcfeFnLRqPGN_pxw&hl=en&ei=c506S7GBIs2GlAep6amlBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CBYQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q=one%20experiment&f=false), page 368, the “Asked and Answered” column, ML asks what the source of the quote is. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815/8 "2009-12-30T01:10:00Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > The quote is at least from March of 1897, because if you look at the [March 1897 edition of “Book News”](http://books.google.com/books?id=q-MRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA368&lpg=PA368&dq=%22one+experiment+is+worth+a+thousand+expert+opinions%22&source=bl&ots=8gmE8Vf1fe&sig=9xrDf82k9SNGcfeFnLRqPGN_pxw&hl=en&ei=c506S7GBIs2GlAep6amlBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CBYQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q=one%20experiment&f=false), page 368, the “Asked and Answered” column, ML asks what the source of the quote is. Yes, I found that page in my own research. Unfortunately, the question is not answered! It does land smack dab in the middle of Edison’s heyday, though. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815/9 "2009-12-30T01:26:46Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > The quote is at least from March of 1897, because if you look at the [March 1897 edition of “Book News”](http://books.google.com/books?id=q-MRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA368&lpg=PA368&dq=%22one+experiment+is+worth+a+thousand+expert+opinions%22&source=bl&ots=8gmE8Vf1fe&sig=9xrDf82k9SNGcfeFnLRqPGN_pxw&hl=en&ei=c506S7GBIs2GlAep6amlBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CBYQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q=one%20experiment&f=false), page 368, the “Asked and Answered” column, ML asks what the source of the quote is. > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Yes, I found that page in my own research. Unfortunately, the question is not answered! It does land smack dab in the middle of Edison’s heyday, though. Thanks to you both for adding this. I just did a quick look and found nothing. This makes it a different ball game. ---
**Author:** ![Tammi\_Terrell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Tammi\_Terrell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tammi_Terrell)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815/10 "2009-12-30T02:51:12Z")
For what it’s worth, _The Shoe and Leather Reporter_ noted in 1896 that it was Robert H. Mathies, co-creator of an mechanized method for sewing the upper parts of shoes and boots onto their soles, who made that observation. (The following link goes to a free PDF of a reprinting that appeared in _The New York Times_.) [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C02E3DA1E3AE533A25750C2A96E9C94679ED7CF](http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C02E3DA1E3AE533A25750C2A96E9C94679ED7CF) (Mathies seems to have died in 1863, though, so it’s a little hard to know where _The Shoe and Leather Reporter_ got the quote. Unless Gordon McKay attributed it directly to Mathies, I guess.) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2009, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-experiment-vs-expert-opinion-quote/522815/11 "2009-12-30T03:44:30Z")
I thought it was Nikolaus Riehl but the quote used **test** rather than **experiment** and Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper used a similar phrase with **accurate measurement** replacing **experiment**.