Apocryphal
"Imagination is everything." ~ Einstein
I've always been fascinated with this quote. That Einstein understood that imagination is where it's all at! I find it very inspiring.
Today though I find this particular quote interesting because of what happened this morning. I was reading something and came across the quote as: "Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions." It was attributed to Einstein, which, ok, that's partly correct.
Now because I had heard part of this quote before, I thought it was weird that Einstein would say something about coming attractions. You know...he might have said something like "from imagination all greatness is created." or something like that...but "coming attractions"? He wasn't Barnum & Bailey.
Anyway, I looked it up and yes, Einstein did say the first part, but the last part is attributed as an "apocryphal" quote.
To be honest, I had to look apocryphal up. So apocryphal does not mean something to do with the apocalypse... which is where my mind went...you know because I'm all about them zombies. Oh yeah, The Walking Dead, I'm looking at you!
Apocryphal means " story, statement, or claim that is widely told and believed by some, but is likely untrue, fake, or of doubtful authenticity." Wow. Absolutely, nothing to do with the apocalypse unless you believe IT to be untrue...which I'm totally onboard that it IS coming and we we will all be at the mercy of our neighbors when they "turn"... OK! Enough! (This is apparently a dark side of myself that I have to work on.) Anyhoooooooooooooo...back to the original intent of this story, because there was one.
So, someone along the way took Einstein's quote and decided to make it better? Possibly for their own needs or for a more modern day slant? Who knows.
It just reminded me that a lot of what we believe to be true has in fact been diluted over the years as it's been added to, amended, and reinterpreted...or, horrors!...for their own personal gain. We take so much of what we see and hear as truth, when really isn't it just an interpretation or a perspective of what the speaker themselves have seen or heard? ...or possibly an outright lie?
Sure, does it really matter that the second sentence in that original Einstein quote was added? It makes it more modern in tone...but what was wrong with the original? Why reinterpret and put something out as true?
Ok. I guess what I'm saying or thinking or babbling about is that if you think something sounds "off" look it up! Don't let others think for you. If you heard something differently (or never heard of it and it sounds weird)...don't put it down to a forgetful mind...check it out! There are so many resources available to us today to know what was actually said, we don't need to assume what we are reading or hearing is truth. You're so much better than that.
Wow. Somehow, this really went off the rails! Maybe it's because I shared my zombie/apocalypse inclination with you and now I feel very vulnerable.
Really all I'm saying is that someone saw Einstein's original quote and decided to add a bit of flair to it for their own reasons....totally disregarding Einstein's intent of the quote! I'm incensed for Einstein! Would Einstein have cared? Probably not. He might even have gotten a chuckle out of it. Would he think I was making a big deal about nothing? Probably. Does that stop me from thinking I have a point to this? Nope. I'm sure there's a point in there somewhere.
And with that I will say "adoo"...no, it's adieu....look it up. See what I did there?
Sending love,
debi
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