Misquote notes: Adams’ original quote has been widely misquoted as: “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Design is knowing which ones to keep.”

In June 2015, Adams himself counted 451,000 search results for the misquote…a fact he noted on his blog post “The Famous Quote I Never Said.” In the post, Adams went on to note some of the differences between ‘art’ and ‘design,’ and added: “All I’m saying is that the famous quote about design, mistakenly attributed to me, doesn’t make sense.” Please click the link below to view more from the Scott Adams website:

“The Famous Quote I Never Said” (21 June 2015) Blog Post, Dilbert by Scott Adams; online via http://blog.dilbert.com/2015/06/21/the-famous-quote-i-never-said/

Misattribution notes: Even when Adams’ original quote is repeated correctly, he often doesn’t receive credit for the words.  A number of online sources have attributed the quote to British entertainer Ricky Gervais (who has shared the saying a number of times, usually citing it directly to Adams).

Additionally, a 2013 Fast Company article about Gervais also included the quote…but the author of that article mistakenly attributed the words to English author Douglas Adams.

[Misattribution notes – sources: “The Internet is My Playground” (11 June 2013) Ricky Gervais, The Huffington Post – Article excerpt: “In fact Scott Adams said, “Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.” Sentence also repeated in “Creativity is the Ability to Play” (5 September 2014) Blog post, RickyGervais.com. Douglas Adams misattribution appears in “To Be More Creative, Study the Great Ricky Gervais Dicking About Theory” (15 July 2013) Drake Baer, Fast Company; online via www.fastcompany.com.  Please see “Source Links” tab for specific article URLs.]

Source [Featured source]: Editor’s copy- The Dilbert Principle (1996) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-88730-787-6

Source link [Scott Adams, on Misquote]: “The Famous Quote I Never Said” (21 June 2015) Blog Post, Dilbert by Scott Adams: http://blog.dilbert.com/2015/06/21/the-famous-quote-i-never-said/

Source link [Re-quote – Gervais]: “The Internet Is My Playground” (11 June 2013) Huffington Post: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/ricky-gervais/ricky-gervais-creativity_b_3420632.html

Source [Misattribution – Fast Company]: “To Be More Creative, Study the Great Ricky Gervais Dicking About Theory” (15 July 2013) Fast Company: https://www.fastcompany.com/3014233/to-be-more-creative-study-the-great-ricky-gervais-dicking-about-theor

Extended excerpt: “You can use Focus Groups to narrow the range of your research. Focus groups are people who are selected on the basis of their inexplicable free time and their common love of free sandwiches.” (p. 139)

Source: Editor’s copy- The Dilbert Principle (1996) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-88730-787-6

Source: Editor’s copy- The Dilbert Principle (1996) International Standard Book Number (ISBN) 0-88730-787-6

Source link: Three-panel cartoon strip – no title (26 March 2005) online via Dilbert by Scott Adams: http://dilbert.com/strip/2005-03-26

Extended excerpt: “It’s important to give encouragement to family and friends, but their happiness and yours are inseparable. For the maximum velocity, I’m suggesting that you give your encouragement to someone who can’t return the favor – it’s a distinction that won’t be lost on the recipient. And remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.”

Source link: “A Kind Word” (Dec. 1995) The Dilbert Zone DNRC: http://web.archive.org/web/19970412134441/www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/newsletter/html/newsletter09.html