“Confusion s the beginning of wisdom” is a saying of uncertain authorship. U.S. General Walter Bedell “Beetle” Smith (1895-1961) said this, as quoted in a 1992 book:
“All I can say from my discussions of the past week or so is that if confusion is the beginning of wisdom, I shall be wise before too long.”
“If Confusion is the beginning of wisdom, I am totally on the Right Track” is a popular modern version that was posted on Twitter on May 24, 2010.
Wikipedia: Walter Bedell Smith
General Walter Bedell “Beetle” Smith (5 October 1895 – 9 August 1961) was a senior officer of the United States Army who served as General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s chief of staff at Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ) during the Tunisia Campaign and the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943 during World War II. He was Eisenhower’s chief of staff at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) in the campaign in Western Europe from 1944 through 1945.
Google Books
The Chairman:
John J McCloy & The Making of the American Establishment
By Kai Bird
New York, NY: Simon & Schuster
1992
Pg. ?:
Later, McCloy wrote his old wartime friend Bedell “Beetle” Smith, “All I can say from my discussions of the past week or so is that if confusion is the beginning of wisdom, I shall be wise before too long.”
Twitter
Lisa Gambrell-Josey
@gambrell104
If Confusion is the beginning of wisdom, I am totally on the Right Track.
7:52 PM - 24 May 2010
Twitter
kyletheblaze
@Kyletheblaze
If Confusion is the beginning of wisdom, I am totally on the Right Track.
8:13 PM - 20 Jun 2010
Twitter
Shaun Weldon
@andromeda7445
If Confusion is the beginning of wisdom, I am totally on the Right Track.
7:04 AM - 6 Jul 2010
Funny Status
If confusion is the beginning of wisdom, I am totally…
April 11, 2013 Misc. Status Updates
If confusion is the beginning of wisdom, I am totally on the right track.
Twitter
Bill Murray
@BiIIMurray
If confusion is the beginning of wisdom, I am totally on the right track.
4:15 PM - 7 Oct 2017
Twitter
Bill Murray
@BiIIMurray
If confusion is the beginning of wisdom, I am totally on the right track.
12:30 PM - 9 Feb 2018
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
•“Civil engineering implies the existence of criminal engineering” (4/23)
•“Dungeness crab implies the existence of Dragoness crab” (4/23)
•“If you don’t understand why the Electoral College exists, you’re the reason” (4/23)
•Angertainment (anger+ entertainment) (4/23)
•“Everything you see on TV is a scripted performance with the purpose of shaping your world view…” (4/23)
More new entries...
Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
This site is edited by Barry Popik. These are the Cookies and Privacy Policies.