[LINK] Quote Origin Reliability [Was: Michael Reardon]

[Roger Clarke]

I copied my response to Bernard's quote on to my colleagues in the
Department of Comp Sci at ANU, and received back the following useful
warning that scepticism is in order in this, as in so many other matters.


>From: Richard Walker <Richard.Walker@cs.anu.edu.au>
>Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2001 17:53:57 +1100 (EST)
>To: Roger Clarke <Roger.Clarke@xamax.com.au>
>Subject: Re: [LINK] Michael Reardon
>
>Web pages with quotations are well-known sources and means of
>propagation of urband legends.  Treat them with a grain of salt.
>Check out the alt.quotations FAQ:
>http://www.mindspring.com/~samhobbs/alt-quotations/faq.html
>
>and especially the list of quotes:
>http://www.mindspring.com/~samhobbs/alt-quotations/quotations.html
>
>Notice that the pages you list do not agree on the exact wording of
>the `quote' - or, at least, that there seem to be two different quotes
>that are very similar.  Notice also that only one of the web pages has
>references to the works in which the `quotes' originally appeared.
>The one that does (www.bemorecreative.com) gives the references as
>`Quoted in: Alva Johnston, The Legendary Mizners, ch. 4 (1953).' and
>`In "Instant Quotation Dictionary," by Donald O. Bolander, 1979.' So
>these are secondary references only - not references to an original
>work (or works) of Wilson Mizner.
>
>I am, of course, not claiming that the `quote' is not genuine, only
>that, IMNSHO, the web pages you list do not constitute strong evidence
>that Wilson Mizner ever said or wrote anything like that `quote'.
>

Roger Clarke              http://www.anu.edu.au/people/Roger.Clarke/

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