Anyone know a source for "fake quotes"?

[GlenBarrington]

I guess there's no such thing as a 'fake quote'.

But does anyone know of a list of statements of incredibly shallow "profundity"? You know, real "thinky" stuff that can't hold up to examination? I'm playing around with a character who is impressed by this sort of thing.

(LOL! At times, it has been claimed I AM a character who is impressed by this sort of thing, which means I might not know the "real deal" if I come across it!)

[gmw]

At the risk of getting into trouble, I suggest motivational (especially sales and management) literature. In there will find such gems as "it's your attitude not your aptitude that determines your altitude" and ... oh, damn! I've been working on my own for too long and forgotten them. Back when I was working for a large corporation and being groomed for management I went on quite a number of cringe inducing courses that provided a never ending stream of such quotes.

Hmm... get yourself invited to an Amway (or any similar marketing scheme) meeting and take a notepad and pen, I seem to remember some goodies in the last one of those I got fooled into attending.

Also check out motivation blogs for weight loss, quitting smoking and writing. They all tend to have a good share of maxims that are insupportable, condescendingly self-evident, self-contradictory, or just plain silly. (Is admitting to knowing this too personally revealing? )

[crich70]

I can see attitude having an effect even if not as profound as that of aptitude as to how far a person can go. If a person thinks they know the material and can't be taught anything new then they will sooner or later fall on their face. Isaac Asimov once called someone up and told them that someone wanted him to write an article about something (I forget the topic) but he was too busy and referred them to the person he was calling. The person claimed they didn't know a lot about the topic and Asimov said that was no problem. He'd tell the other person what he knew and the other person must know something he didn't. lol. As far as "fake quotes" why not take a real quote and rewrite it in your own words? i.e. example: A rolling stone gathers no moss = if you move through the alley quickly enough the garbage won't stick to you. I could see a character adopting that as a quote that he/she heard from another off screen character.

[skb]

Well, there's the InspiroBot that generates "inspiring" (yet stupid) quotes.

But my favorite is the New-Age Bullshit Generator. That's the one they tried out on people and people thought it was "deep".

There is no hope for the human race. Or, "If you have never experienced this spark at the quantum level, it can be difficult to self-actualize." I think we can all agree with that.

[lumpynose]

Originally Posted by skb

But my favorite is the New-Age Bullshit Generator. That's the one they tried out on people and people thought it was "deep".

That one is very funny. One time I was at an art museum and I swear that for one of the artists the descriptions below each one of what the artist said about their work was straight out of that.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

I guess there's no such thing as a 'fake quote'.

But does anyone know of a list of statements of incredibly shallow "profundity"? You know, real "thinky" stuff that can't hold up to examination? I'm playing around with a character who is impressed by this sort of thing.

(LOL! At times, it has been claimed I AM a character who is impressed by this sort of thing, which means I might not know the "real deal" if I come across it!)

"Shallow profundity?"
"False quotes?"

You're at the right place already, my friend!!

I slay myself!

[gmw]

Originally Posted by crich70

I can see attitude having an effect even if not as profound as that of aptitude as to how far a person can go.[...]

As far as I can see this falls under the OP's "shallow profundity" (or what I called "condescendingly self-evident"). If you don't give a s**t you probably won't be asking the question (with any serious intent) in the first place. And where the enquirer does give a s**t, they are still left with a very wide selection of attitudes they might take, leaving them effectively no wiser than they were before this sort of crap was regurgitated.

It really is the most blatant (and common) form of such profound quotes: it sounds great but actually says nothing useful, leaving the recipient free to make up their own meaning - which, of course, they will be agree with and be correspondingly impressed.

[pdurrant]

Here's three from a google search for list motivational quotations:

https://www.briantracy.com/blog/pers...s-for-success/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinkr.../#34af3aa86c7a
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247213

[gmw]

Some nice ones in there, pdurrant!

“The Man Who Has Confidence In Himself Gains The Confidence Of Others.” = the very definition of a con-man. Just the sort of motivation I like to see.

And, of course, one of my pet peeves: “What You Lack In Talent Can Be Made Up With Desire, Hustle And Giving 110% All The Time.” Hmm... so this is a recommendation to keep getting further and further into debt? (That extra 10% has to come from somewhere.)

Or about something that (for a fiction writer in particular) is really scary: “We become what we think about.”


This discussion reminds me of a silly scene near the end of the movie Bandits where Bruce Willis is spouting on about "expecting the unexpected" and how that leaves you vulnerable to the truly unexpected. He plays a stupid man very convincingly. That's a compliment, Bruce, really it is.

[GlenBarrington]

Originally Posted by gmw

Some nice ones in there, pdurrant!

Or about something that (for a fiction writer in particular) is really scary: “We become what we think about.”

Could this be a quote from Stephen King? If not, he should claim it. It would likely keep fans from invading his privacy.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

I guess there's no such thing as a 'fake quote'.

But does anyone know of a list of statements of incredibly shallow "profundity"? You know, real "thinky" stuff that can't hold up to examination? I'm playing around with a character who is impressed by this sort of thing.

Try Facebook or Twitter. They're full of that drivel.

Hitch

[gmw]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Try Facebook or Twitter. They're full of that drivel.

Hitch

I think they were looking for something more specific than a random word generator ... or maybe not

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by gmw

I think they were looking for something more specific than a random word generator ... or maybe not

Well, he SAID:

...a list of statements of incredibly shallow "profundity"? You know, real "thinky" stuff that can't hold up to examination?

I mean, hell, social media is tailor-made for precisely that! :-)

Hitch

[lumpynose]

Motivational sayings that runners, triathletes, and body builders use is exactly that kind of drek.

[Emily Williamson]

Here's three from a google search for list motivational quotations:

https://www.success.com/17-motivatio...be-successful/
https://motivationping.com/quotes/
https://www.goodcore.co.uk/blog/best-writing-apps/
http://wisdomquotes.com/motivational-quotes/
https://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/100...o-succeed.html