MISATTRIBUTED
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
Misattributed
Widely shared under this name, but not theirs.
This quote is commonly circulated under the author's name, but it does not appear in their known works. The true origin is unconfirmed — likely a later paraphrase.
Source
Quote Investigator · Snopes · Mental Floss
Editorial Note
This quote is one of the most well-documented cases of misattribution on the internet. It is widely credited to Albert Einstein, but Einstein died in 1955 — the quote didn't appear until 1981, first overheard at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and shortly after in a Narcotics Anonymous pamphlet. Author Rita Mae Brown published it in her 1983 novel Sudden Death. The Einstein attribution began appearing around 1990 with no supporting evidence. Quote Investigator, Snopes, and Mental Floss have all independently confirmed it did not originate with Einstein.
