### The Famous Einstein Quote that never was

You might have come across the following quote in the past few years:

> Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.

> Albert Einstein

It has been most popular on Facebook and other social networks, where people share it aplenty. No wonder: it is neat, it sounds smart, and, let’s be frank, Albert is one hell of a figure!

The truth is not as neat, though. And mindlessly forwarding the quote isn’t exactly smart. That’s because Einstein never said that. The quote comes from the 2004 book The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose by Mathew Kelly, published almost 50 years after Albert’s death in 1955.

Kelly was most likely inspired by an essay by Amos E. Dolbear of Tufts titled “An Educational Allegory,” describing animals educated to work on their weakest features instead of their strongest ones. So an eagle was made to run, a penguin was forced to fly, and so on. There is also the 1903 “Jungle School Boards” fable from an Illinois newspaper. It tells a story of a monkey, a kangaroo, and an elephant who cannot agree on the curriculum for their animal school — should all the little animals be taught tree-climbing, jumping, or looking wise?

In the late 1940s, something that appears to be an amalgam of the two was published and later reprinted with various changes in the 1960s. The idea evolved for decades and got mixed up with a few other quotes about being a genius originating back in the 1970s. Finally, Kelly wrote in his 2004 book:

> Albert Einstein wrote, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” The question I have for you at this point of our journey together is, “What is your genius?”

Why he attributed this to Albert Einstein remains unclear. The fact is, the quote got popular. But, apparently, not everyone is a genius when it comes to fact-checking and sources.