Nolite Credere Internet

I warn my students not to trust the internet.

John Dryden (1631-1700)

Last week, I received a student essay with this quotation, attributed to the English poet John Dryden, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.”  That doesn’t sound like Dryden, I thought.

Googling the quote, I found it attributed to Albert Einstein instead. I googled the quote along with “John Dryden” and found it attributed to John Dryden. I searched a little more and found this version, “Education is what remains when we have forgotten all that we have been taught,” attributed to George Savile, a 17th century British statesman. I poked around a little to discover the quotation’s real source but gave up. If you figure it out, let me know.

I advised the student to write something like “attributed to many.”