Quote: Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music

Garson O'Toole adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM
Tue Jun 5 16:47:03 UTC 2012


The following statement is often credited to the philosopher Friedrich
Nietzsche:

And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who
could not hear the music.

Megan Fox has a tattoo of this expression. I haven't located any
substantive evidence that Nietzsche wrote or said this. Maybe a list
member can find something.

A very different philosopher is associated with the earliest
appearance of the idea. In 1997 the comedian George Carlin published
"Brain Droppings", and it included the following remark [GCBD]:

[Begin excerpt]
Those who dance are considered insane by those who can't hear the music.
[End excerpt]

[GCBD] 1997, Brain Droppings by George Carlin, [Freestanding remark],
Page 74, Hyperion, New York. (Verified on paper)

More on this topic is available here:

http://quoteinvestigator.com/2012/06/05/dance-insane/

Thanks for any help you can provide
Garson

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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