The Real Definiton Of Insanity

There is a saying that has become so commonplace that some people take it at face value.  For some reason it really drives me nuts.  The saying is:  Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. The saying has been attributed to Albert Einstein, Mark Twain and others and is misquoted time after time.

Salon.com has called it "the most overused cliche' of all time" and it's also been called "the dumbest thing ever said by a smart person".

What this quote is actually giving you is an "example" of insanity.  The "definition" of insanity (according to Dictionary.com  is "the condition of being insane".  "Insane" is defined as "not of sound mind".  There is nothing in either definition about "doing things over and over".  Actually "doing things over and over and expecting different results" could more likely be seen as "persistence" rather than insanity.  Let me elaborate.  If you ran 100 yards every day, you'd expect to get faster or less fatigued wouldn't you?  If you chipped away at a rock everyday, you'd expect it to get smaller, wouldn't you.

Let's put this dumb saying to rest once and for all.  It's just an easy to remember saying that ignorant people say to try to sound intelligent.