The Apocryphal Twain: “Data is like garbage. You’d better know what you’re going to do with it before you collect it.”
A management theorist’s ideas reformulated and misattributed to Mark Twain.
Category: The Apocryphal Twain
There is perhaps no greater testament to Twain’s lasting reputation than the habitual misattribution of miscellaneous wit and wisdom to his name. The circulation of such apocryphal aphorisms was common enough in the 20th century. It has only increased with the popularization of digital media. The most common question addressed to the Center for Mark Twain Studies is some variety of “Did he really say that?” Whenever possible, we track down the original source, as well as attempt to trace how their words came to be imagined in Twain’s mouth.
The Apocryphal Twain: “It is easier to con a man than to convince him he has been conned.”
Viral apocrypha associated with January 6 hearings.
The Apocryphal Twain: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.”
The search for the origin of this popular aphorism run through Dwight D. Eisenhower, “Bear” Bryant, and the B&O railroad!?!
The Apocryphal Twain: “America is built on a tilt and everything loose slides to California.” (Plus Things Mark Twain Really Said About California!)
Is Mark Twain really responsible for this aphorism about curiously unhinged Californians?
The Apocryphal Twain: “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.”
Mark Twain may have made writing look easy, but he didn’t think it actually was.
The Apocryphal Twain: “Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.”
A new installment of Matt Seybold’s “Apocryphal Twain” series focuses on an aphorism often attribued to Mark Twain and George Carlin, but with actual orgins in midcentury cinema.
The Apocryphal Twain: “If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it.”
An anti-democratic dismissal circulates during election season, falsely attributed to Mark Twain. Where did it actually come from?
The Apocryphal Twain: “The things you didn’t do.”
This commonly misattributed aphorism has its origins in memoirs, Westerns, and the Peace Corps.
The Apocryphal Twain: Ron Chernow’s Encomium to The American Press At White House Correspondents Dinner Ends On A False Note
Ron Chernow ended his White House Correspondents Dinner speech with a quote by Mark Twain. Cool, cool. It’s a solid formula. We just wish he’d quoted something Twain actually said.
The Apocryphal Twain: “Politicians are like diapers.”
There is perhaps no greater testament to Twain’s lasting reputation than the habitual misattribution of miscellaneous wit and wisdom to his name. The circulation of such apocryphal aphorisms was common enough in the 20th century. It has only increased with the popularization of digital media. The most common question addressed to the Center for Mark Twain Studies is some variety of “Did he really say that?” Whenever possible, we track […]