Doing the Same Steps Over and Over Again

Albert Einstein? Al-Anon? Narcotics Anonymous? Max Nordau? George Bernard Shaw? Samuel Beckett? George A. Kelly? Rita Mae Brown? John Larroquette? Jessie Potter? Werner Erhard?

Dearest Quote Investigator: It's foolish to repeat ineffective actions. One popular formulation presents this point harshly:

The definition of insanity is doing the aforementioned thing over and over once more and expecting a different upshot.

These words are usually credited to the acclaimed genius Albert Einstein. What exercise you lot think?

Quote Investigator: There is no substantive evidence that Einstein wrote or spoke the statement above. It is listed within a section called "Misattributed to Einstein" in the comprehensive reference "The Ultimate Quotable Einstein" from Princeton Academy Press. ^[1] 2010, The Ultimate Quotable Einstein, Edited by Alice Calaprice, Section: Misattributed to Einstein, Quote Folio 474, Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. (Verified on paper)

The earliest strong lucifer known to QI appeared in October 1981 within a Knoxville, Tennessee newspaper article describing a meeting of Al-Anon, an organization designed to help the families of alcoholics. The announcer described the "Twelve Steps" of Al-Anon which are based on similar steps employed in Alcoholics Anonymous. The paper began with these two steps: ^[2] 1981 October xi, The Knoxville News-Spotter Al-Anon Helps Family, Friends to Orderly Lives past Betsy Pickle (Living Today Staff Writer), Quote Folio F17, Column two, Knoxville, Tennessee. (GenealogyBank)

Step 1: We admitted nosotros were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had get unmanageable.

Pace ii: Came to believe that a Ability greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity

One of the attendees at the meeting hesitated to take the accuracy of second footstep. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:

Not all the women are willing to admit they needed to be "restored to sanity." In fact, one of them adamantly maintains that she had never reached a indicate of insanity. But another remarks, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and again and expecting different results."

The second earliest strong friction match known to QI appeared in a pamphlet printed past the Narcotics Anonymous organisation in Nov 1981: ^[3] 1981, Narcotics Anonymous Pamphlet, (Basic Text Approval Grade, Unpublished Literary Work), Chapter Four: How It Works, Stride Ii, Page 11, Printed November 1981, Copyright 1981, W.S.C.-Literature … Continue reading

The price may seem higher for the addict who prostitutes for a fix than it is for the addict who merely lies to a doctor, but ultimately both pay with their lives. Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results.

QI acquired a PDF of the certificate with the quotation above on the website amonymifoundation.org back in February 2011. The certificate stated that is was printed in November 1981, and it had a 1981 copyright discover. The website was subsequently reorganized, but the document remains available via the Net Annal Wayback Motorcar database.

Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
The linkage between insanity and repetition has a long history. The controversial book "Degeneration" by Max Nordau was published in German in 1892 and translated into English language by 1895. Nordau examined the works of a variety of artists and savagely attacked those that contained repetition which he believed evinced a mental defect in the creator. For example, he criticized Maurice Maeterlinck's "La Princesse Maleine": ^[iv] 1895 Copyright, Degeneration by Max Nordau (Max Simon Nordau) (Translated from the Second Edition of the German Work), Quote Page 238, D. Appleton and Company. (Google Books Total View) link

Has anyone anywhere in the verse of the two worlds e'er seen such complete idiocy? These 'Ahs' and 'Ohs,' this want of comprehension of the simplest remarks, this repetition 4 or five times of the aforementioned imbecile expressions, gives the truest conceivable clinical motion-picture show of incurable cretinism. These parts are precisely those most extolled by Maeterlinck's admirers.

When George Bernard Shaw reviewed Nordau'southward opus he turned the criticism of repetition back upon the writer and suggested that Nordau might diagnose himself every bit mentally unsound: ^[v] 1895 July 27, Freedom, Book 11, Number six, A Degenerate'southward View of Nordau by Bernard Shaw, Quote Page ii, Column ane, Published past Benj. R Tucker, New York. (Reprint in 1970 by Greenwood Reprint … Go along reading

I have read Max Nordau's "Degeneration" at your asking,—two hundred and sixty one thousand mortal words, saying the aforementioned thing over and over once more. That, as you know, is the manner to drive a thing into the mind of the earth, though Nordau considers information technology a symptom of insane "obsession" on the part of writers who do not share his own opinions. His message to the world is that all our characteristically modern works of art are symptoms of affliction in the artists, and that these diseased artists are themselves symptoms of the nervous exhaustion of the race by overwork.

The 1955 book "The Psychology of Personal Constructs" by George A. Kelly included a definition that corresponded to the saying under investigation although information technology employed a dissimilar vocabulary: ^[6] 1955, The Psychology of Personal Constructs by George A. Kelly, Volume two: Clinical Diagnosis and Psychotherapy, Quote Page 831, Published by W. W. Norton & Company, New York. (Verified on paper)

From the standpoint of the psychology of personal constructs we may define a disorder as any personal structure which is used repeatedly in spite of consistent invalidation. This is an unusual definition, as psychological thinking ordinarily goes.

In October 1981 an educator and counselor on family relationships delivered a speech communication containing a thematically related adage: ^[7] 1981 October 24, The Milwaukee Sentry, Search For Quality Called Key To Life past Tom Ahern, Quote Folio five, Column five, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Google News Archive)

"If you always do what you've always done, you e'er go what y'all've e'er gotten." That was the advice of Jessie Potter, the featured speaker at Fri'southward opening of the seventh annual Woman to Adult female conference.

More data well-nigh the quotation above is available here.

In October 1981 the saying was spoken by an attendee of an Al-Anon meeting as noted previously:

Insanity is doing the same affair over and over again and expecting unlike results.

In November 1981 a pamphlet from Narcotics Anonymous independent a shut match as noted previously:

Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results.

The 1983 novel "Sudden Death" by Rita Mae Brown included an instance credited to Jane Fulton who was a grapheme within the book: ^[8] 1983, Sudden Death by Rita Mae Brown, Chapter 4, Quote Page 68, Published by Bantam Books, New York. (Verified with scans)

The trouble with Susan was that she made the same mistakes repeatedly. She'd autumn in love with a woman and consume her. Susan thought that her mere presence was plenty. What more than was there to give? When she tired, normally after a year or so, she'd observe another adult female.

Unfortunately, Susan didn't recollect what Jane Fulton once said. "Insanity is doing the same matter over and over again, but expecting different results."

A June 1983 book review of "Sudden Expiry" in "The Blaring-Ledger" of Jackson, Mississippi reprinted the proverb: ^[9] 1983 June xix, The Clarion-Ledger, "Sudden Death" a circuitous metaphor by Stephen L. Silberman, (Volume review of "Sudden Death" by Rita Mae Brown), Quote Page 7H, Cavalcade 2, … Go on reading

Women'due south tennis gets a thorough dissecting in this story. Jane Fulton is the critical sports author who contends "Modern professional sports rewards players for part instead of character. Responsibility is usually defined every bit doing a chore better than anyone else." She looks askance at professional tennis and says "Win and become a god. Lose and be forgotten." Finally subsequently following the lives and careers of the players, and the game itself, she concludes, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over once again, merely expecting unlike results."

Also in 1983 Samuel Beckett, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, offered a counterpoint perspective in his work "Worstward Ho": ^[x] 1983, Worstward Ho by Samuel Beckett, Quote Folio seven, Grove Press Inc., New York. (Verified with scans)

All of old. Nothing else ever. E'er tried. E'er failed. No matter. Try again. Neglect again. Fail better.

In January 1986 the Emmy-winning actor John Larroquette who was a star in the television comedy series "Night Court" shared the definition during a newspaper interview: ^[xi] 1986 Jan five, The Sydney Morn Herald, Telly with Jacqueline Lee Lewes: From drugs, drink to… Dark Court: 'Confessions of an Emmy Star, Quote Page 31, Column iii, Sydney, New … Proceed reading

He pops in a definition of insanity – "It'south the repetition of the aforementioned action expecting dissimilar results. Like jumping out of a 40-storey building, breaking every bone, spending vi months in hospital, going back to the same building, upward to the 39th flooring, jumping and expecting it to be different. It is NEVER unlike."

In April 1986 an stance piece past Baltazar A. Acevedo Jr in "The Dallas Morning News" of Texas included the proverb: ^[12] 1986 April 25, The Dallas Forenoon News, Leadership Beyond Ethnicity Should Be Goal of Dallasites past Baltazar A. Acevedo Jr., Dallas, Texas. (NewsBank Access World News)

I in one case heard insanity divers equally a process by which an individual or a system does something over and over once more in the aforementioned way while notwithstanding expecting different results. To continue to evaluate and address issues in our customs strictly along ethnic, instead of human, considerations is insane if simply for ane reason: Information technology will pb to the polarization that is the standard of paranoid societies.

The 1988 book "Raising Cocky-Reliant Children in a Cocky-Indulgent World" included an instance: ^[13] 1988 Copyright, Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World: Seven Building Blocks for Developing Capable Young People by H. Stephen Glenn and Jane Nelsen, Quote Page 174, Published by … Continue reading

Flexibility is the ability to bend when we find ourselves in unworkable positions. A universal characteristic of insanity is inflexibly doing the aforementioned thing over and over while hoping for different results. Flexibility in the face of irresolute circumstances, by contrast, is a hallmark of mental health.

By 1990 the saying was being attributed to Einstein. For example, the "Austin American-Statesman" of Austin, Texas published the post-obit remark made by Travis County Commune Attorney Ronnie Earle: ^[14] 1990 November 19, Austin American-Statesman, Section: News, Prison house Puzzle – Threat of cost explosion poses difficult choices by Mike Ward, Quote Page A1, Austin, Texas. (NewsBank Admission World … Continue reading

Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same affair over and over and expecting a dissimilar event.

In 1991 "The Seattle Times" printed the thoughts of an Indiana guess who ascribed another version of the saying to Einstein: ^[15] 1991 July 4, The Seattle Times, Section: Editorial, Getting Out of the Freedom Business by Don Williamson, Quote Page A8, Seattle, Washington. (NewsBank Access Earth News)

The jurist from the Hoosier Land subscribes to Albert Einstein's definition of insanity: "doing the aforementioned affair over and over and expecting a different outcome."

In 2000 a columnist working for the Knight Ridder News Service ascribed a version of the saying to the influential lecturer and trainer Werner Erhard although the name was misspelled as "Erhart": ^[16] 2000 July thirty, The Indianapolis Star, Get a plan to overcome trouble spots past Tim O'Brien (Knight Ridder News Service), Quote Folio J3, Column 1, Indianapolis, Indiana. (Newspapers_com)

Werner Erhart described insanity equally 'repeating identical behavior and expecting a different result.' If nosotros repeatedly have difficulties in an area of life, doesn't it brand sense that our behaviors cause the problems?

In 2022 the webcomic "xkcd" depicted ii characters conversing; the first mentioned the now well-known definition of insanity, and the second replied with a remark that implicitly and cleverly applied the logic of the definition to his companion: ^[17] Website: xkcd Comic, Comic championship: Insanity, Comic writer: Randall Munroe, Engagement on website: March 18, 2016, Website description: A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language. (Accessed xkcd.com … Continue reading

Yous've been quoting that cliché for years. Has it convinced anyone to change their mind yet?

In conclusion, based on current evidence the proverb originated in one of the twelve-stride communities. Anonymity is greatly valued in these communities, and no specific author has been identified by the many researchers who have explored the provenance of this adage. The linkage to Albert Einstein occurred many years afterward his death and is unsupported.

Image Notes: Two arrows pointing at one some other from OpenClipart-Vectors at Pixabay. Portrait of Albert Einstein circa 1921 by Ferdinand Schmutzer accessed via Wikimedia Commons. Images accept been retouched, cropped and resized.

(Great thanks to MJ Redman, Kevin Ashton, Melinda Denson, Linda Sternhill Davis, The Muser, Mededitor, Santanu Vasant, Simon Lancaster, Michael Cochran, David Meadows, J Carson, Guilherme Simões, Ed Darrell, Lee Winkelman, and Fabius Maximus (Ed.) whose inquiries led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Special thanks to the volunteer researchers Quora and Wikiquote who mentioned the Narcotics Anonymous commendation. As well, thank you to the valuable research conducted by Barry Popik, Ben Zimmer, and Daniel Gackle. Many thank you to Beak Mullins who located the important October 11, 1981 citation.)

Update History: On July 31, 2022 the October 11, 1981 citation was added to the article.

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Source: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2017/03/23/same/

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