Einstein Said... (1 September 2009)

OK. He really didn’t say that. Einstein had, in fact, died before we started the SCS Blog. Einstein also didn’t say many of the other things attributed to him, but the phrase, “Einstein said,” seems to add the authority of genius to whatever follows. This illustrates one of the so-called advanced language patterns of NLP called “Quotes.” The speaker’s personal responsibility for quoted material is diminished, while the focus shifts to the person or other source quoted. When you want an idea to have the authority of genius, preface it with, “Einstein said.” I suspect that a lot of really intelligent things are attributed to Einstein because he is one genius with whom most people are familiar. Quoting a genius loses some of its effect if the person doesn’t recognize the person’s name. Of course, if your main purpose is to say something without being blamed for it, you can quote anybody, from dead relatives to doctors, dentists, lawyers, and Indian Chiefs. Indian Chiefs are especially useful for making points about the environment and the arrogance of General George Custer.

Quotes can be a useful technique for framing ideas, especially when the quotation is accurate and appropriately meaningful. Just because a famous person said something, however, doesn’t mean that he or she meant it. One often quoted passage from John Milton’s Paradise Lost, for example, is the following: “The Mind is its own place and it itself can make a Heaven of Hell or a Hell of Heaven.” The quotation is typically offered to support the power of the mind to create reality. The problem with attributing that idea to Milton, however, is that, although he wrote Paradise Lost, the speaker into whose mouth he puts those words is Satan. Milton is saying, “This is the way Satan thinks.” By the end of the poem Milton has Satan saying, “Which way I fly is Hell; I myself am Hell.” It is much more likely that Milton believed Satan was showing his arrogance in claiming powers of the mind than Milton was saying, "If Satan can do it, you can do it, too!"

As quoting Milton to prove the powers of mind illustrates, the best quotations to use are those you really know. You never know when someone will ask, “Where did Milton say that?” To retain authority, you need to be able to provide an answer. This is true for anything reasonably well-known in your culture, from Shakespeare, to the Bible, to the Bill of Rights. Just because something sounds good to you doesn’t mean that you understand it. I have known a number of people who think that when Juliet says, “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo,” she’s thinking that he might be hiding behind a bush. She is actually wondering why he is a member of a family that’s feuding with her family. We would say “why” where she said “wherefore.” Wherefore does that happen? Language and perspectives change over time.

In most conversations, you do well to use quotations sufficiently meaningful to stand alone without the added authority of a famous name. If someone you know has really bad breath, for example, you might say, “My dentist said that social success begins and ends with good oral hygiene.” The chances are that the person isn’t going to call your dentist to see whether she actually told you that, and it puts you a step away from having said it. You can put yourself an additional step away by saying, “I don’t know whether it’s true or not, but my dentist told me that social success begins and ends with good oral hygiene.” I frequently quote one of my uncles, who said, “Power is no substitute for finesse.” He said it in reference to shooting pool, but it applies to much of life.

In more formal situations, especially when you will be addressing a large audience, do your homework before including quotations or stick to those that make their point without relying on the authority of the source. I have, in fact, had more than one teacher tell me, “Do your homework,” so it’s not surprising that I’m quoting that advice now. The same thing, of course, applies to the other “advanced language patterns” included in the NLP body of language. That reminds me of a story about Alfred Kozybski, who had a dream about the science of using language sanely so that it would lead to greater understanding and mutual trust. And when you have done your homework, you will know more about it, won’t you....

joel@scs-matters.com
www.scs-matters.com