Albert Einstein
1879–1955
2 genuine quotes, each found in the text, and 12 wrongly credited to Einstein.
German-born theoretical physicist, author of the special and general theories of relativity, who left Germany in 1933 and spent his last two decades at Princeton; he also wrote and spoke widely on religion, pacifism, Zionism and socialism. He is one of the most quoted and most misquoted people on the internet: a great many witty or inspirational lines are credited to him with no source in his writings, and his real sentences often circulate trimmed or retranslated from German.
FrontispieceMade by an image model after Ferdinand Schmutzer’s photograph of Albert Einstein (1921, public domain), in the manner of the Bauhaus (1919–1933). The likeness is the original’s; this picture is AI‑generated and not historical. The endpaper behind it is an AI‑generated pattern in the same manner.
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Genuine Einstein quotes
- Nevertheless, it is necessary to remember that a planned economy is not yet socialism.
Why Socialism? (1949), Why Socialism?, paragraph beginning Nevertheless, it is necessary; February 1951 pamphlet, PDF page 8.
- This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism.
Why Socialism? (1949), Why Socialism?, paragraph beginning This crippling of individuals; February 1951 pamphlet, PDF page 8.
Quotes wrongly credited to Einstein
- Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.
Not found. It is not in Einstein’s works, and who first wrote it is not known.
- 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.
Not found. The saying was attributed to Einstein in notes dated 1942, but no original Einstein source has been established; the attribution remains unverified.
- Any fool can know. The point is to understand.
Misattributed. Ernest Kinoy wrote this for a fictional Einstein in Dr. Einstein Before Lunch; it is not a documented quotation from the physicist.
- Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.
Not found. There is no authenticated Einstein source. The exact wording was reported from Charlotte Clemensen Taylor in 1986; an Einstein credit is documented in a 2000 quotation collection.
- Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.
Not found. No authenticated Einstein source is known. The comparison was already in an unsigned 1925 advertisement; the Einstein credit found by Quote Investigator dates to 1988.
- Creativity is intelligence having fun.
Not found. Not authenticated as Einstein. A 1984 Scialabba sentence is the documented precursor; the modern wording is in print by 1994, with its exact coiner unresolved.
- 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.
Not found. No authenticated Einstein source is known; the documented 2004 wording already credits him, but its actual author remains unknown.
- If the bee disappears from the surface of the earth, man would have no more than four years to live
Not found. No authenticated Einstein source supports this prediction; the four-year claim was attributed to him in print in 1965, but its originator remains unknown.
- Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Not found. No authenticated Einstein source is known; close versions are documented in recovery communities in 1981, with no individual author established.
- Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.
Misattributed. The best-supported author is sociologist William Bruce Cameron, who printed the full maxim in 1963; the later Einstein blackboard story is unsupported.
- I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots.
Not found. There is no authenticated Einstein source. The warning is documented as a 2012 internet meme, with its early web dates known through secondary reporting.
- The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
Misattributed. This wording developed from Bob Samples’s commentary on Einstein; no documented Einstein source supports treating it as the physicist’s own words.
The works we hold
Quotes are looked up word for word in these texts. The number is how many genuine quotes here come from each.
| Work | Year | Genuine quotes |
|---|---|---|
| Why Socialism? | 1949 | 2 |