Back in my undergraduate days, I had a t-shirt with the quote “Everything must be made as simple as possible, but not simpler” on it. I wore this shirt all the time, as I really identified with the sentiment (still do!).

The shirt attributed the quote to Albert Einstein but low and behold, he only sorta maybe said it.

According to The Quote Investigator, there is no direct evidence Einstein ever said this phrase.

SURPRISE!!

Everything must be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.

This “quote” above has been extrapolated from a general recounting of composer Roger Sessions back in 1960 of something Einstein supposedly said. Sessions paraphrased whatever he did say to the following: “[Einstein] said, in effect, that everything should be as simple as it can be but not simpler!”

This “quote” then made its way into a 1950 poem from Louis Zukofsky.

In 1962, Time magazine modified the “quote” to the following: “Everything must be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.”

In 1972, the solution to a word puzzle in the Daily Cryptquote became “everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” This quote version also appeared in the The Yale Book of Quotations.

To recap, the “quote” has been documented in at least four different ways:

1. Everything should be as simple as it can be but not simpler.
2. Everything must be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler.
3. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.

and then the modern version: Everything must be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.

Einstein, or is it?

So, the quote on my t-shirt is not an actual quote as I and others have been led to believe. It is a mere interpretation of something which may or may not have been said with that particular phrasing. There seems to be a general agreement the modern paraphrase is acceptable to attribute to Einstein even if the phrasing basics are attributable to Roger Sessions.

But would the phrase be as popular with Sessions’ name attached? I say no.

It seems believable as a quote because it seems like something Einstein would say. It’s smart, snappy, and educational. Like the man himself! 😉

But what’s the point of all this?

To all of you, probably not much. To me, it’s a reminder to be wary of all those quotations constantly posted and shared around social media. They may not be accurate or properly attributed or an actual quotation.

But then again, if you love it and it matters to you then, well, what does it really matter in the end?