A recorded run from 12 October 2026, with 3 sites that already answer it kept out of the search.

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Usually credited to Albert Einstein

Plan
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5 done
Read and check
16 of 16 pages, 14 confirmed
Follow citations
1 cited work, 1 page found
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misattributed· high confidencejudged on Nemotron 3 Super

Albert Einstein probably didn't say it

Earliest trace: 1980, Narcotics Anonymous literature, via style.mla.org n3

Multiple sources trace the phrase to Narcotics Anonymous literature circa 1980 and to Rita Mae Brown's 1983 novel "Sudden Death", with no evidence Einstein ever said it. Attributions to Einstein appear only from the 1990s onward. Thus the saying is misattributed to him. n1 n2 n3 n5 n7 n10 n11

The known answerMisattributed to Albert EinsteinSame verdict as this run

Earliest known: Knoxville, Tennessee newspaper report on an Al-Anon meeting, 1981-10-11.

Probably from a twelve-step community; no single author is known. Credited to Einstein by 1990 (Austin American-Statesman), long after his death.

From quoteinvestigator.com.

What the agents did

Who does what

Run: The run itself: when it started, which sites it left out, and when it stopped.
Planner: Writes the search: other wordings of the quote, who might have said it, and the queries.
Search: Web search through Tavily, which brings back the pages to read.
Reader: Reads one page and copies the quote word for word, with who the page credits, its date and any older work it names.
Checker: Plain code, no model. Checks every copied line against the page text, allowing small differences in wording, and crosses out what it can't find there. It also corrects a verdict's earliest date or page when the pages don't back it.
Genealogist: Picks older works the confirmed pages name and looks for them in digital libraries, for up to two rounds.
Judge: Weighs only the confirmed pages and gives the verdict, which code checks before it stands.

Run
Started. Sites that already wrote up answers are left out: quoteinvestigator.com, wikiquote.org, wikipedia.org
Planner
Planned 5 searches and 3 other wordings
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Search
5 results for "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
Search
5 results for "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again" earliest newspaper
Search
5 results for "doing the same thing over and over expecting different results" book quote
Search
5 results for "definition of insanity" speech origin
Search
5 results for Rita Mae Brown insanity quote source
Search
13 pages to read
Reader
Found the quote on pedroinnecco.com
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning$0.0001
Checker
Confirmed n4 on pedroinnecco.com
Reader
Found the quote on mentalfloss.com
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Checker
Confirmed n5 on mentalfloss.com
Reader
Found the quote on businessinsider.com
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Checker
Confirmed n1 on businessinsider.com
Reader
Found the quote on style.mla.org
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Checker
Confirmed n3 on style.mla.org
Reader
Found the quote on snopes.com
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Checker
Confirmed n2 on snopes.com
Reader
Found the quote on youtube.com
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Reader
Trying again on Nemotron 3 Super (youtube.com): the snippet is not on the page
Reader
Found the quote on chrisguillebeau.com
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Checker
Confirmed n8 on chrisguillebeau.com
Reader
Found the quote on medium.com
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Checker
Confirmed n7 on medium.com
Reader
Found the quote on news.hypercrit.net
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Checker
Confirmed n10 on news.hypercrit.net
Reader
Found the quote on goodreads.com
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Checker
Confirmed n13 on goodreads.com (close match)
Reader
Page too long to read: professorbuzzkill.com
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Reader
Trying again on Nemotron 3 Super (professorbuzzkill.com): a field was too long to be a quote
Reader
Found the quote on grammarphobia.com
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Checker
Confirmed n11 on grammarphobia.com
Reader
Found the quote on artsandculture.google.com
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Checker
Confirmed n12 on artsandculture.google.com
Reader
Found the quote on youtube.com
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Checker
Confirmed n9 on youtube.com
Reader
Found the quote on professorbuzzkill.com
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Checker
Confirmed n6 on professorbuzzkill.com
Genealogist
Following Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text (cited by n3)
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5 results for Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results
Genealogist
3 new pages to read
Reader
No quote on books.google.com (looking for Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text)
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Reader
No quote on books.google.com (looking for Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text)
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Reader
Found the quote on web.archive.org
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Checker
Confirmed n14 on web.archive.org
Judge
Verdict: misattributed, high confidence
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Run
Done in 39s

How it got to the version people share

First seenn3 style.mla.org
First appearance in Narcotics Anonymous literature (c. 1980).
Credit changesn10 news.hypercrit.net
Credited to Rita Mae Brown.
Credit changesn5 mentalfloss.com
Credited back to Albert Einstein.
Wording changesn6 professorbuzzkill.com
Wording altered to 'over and over and' (missing 'again').
Wording changesn14 web.archive.org
Wording changed to 'Insanity is ... but expecting a different result'.
Wording changesn4 pedroinnecco.com
Appears unattributed with quoted phrasing.

Where the quote turns up, oldest first

1980
- n3style.mla.org1980
  Earliest the judge found
  “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
  Credited to
  Albert Einstein
  Cites
  Narcotics Anonymous literature (1980)
  ✓ On the pageFive Commonly Misattributed Quotations | MLA Style Center
1981
- n5mentalfloss.com1981
  Where the wrong name shows up
  “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
  Credited to
  Albert Einstein
  Cites
  Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in 1981
  ✓ On the page‘Definition of Insanity’: Did Albert Einstein Really Coin This Famous Phrase?
- n2snopes.com1981
  “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
  Credited to
  Albert Einstein
  Cites
  Knoxville News Sentinel, 1981
  ✓ On the pageDid Einstein say, 'Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results'? | Snopes.com
- n10news.hypercrit.net1981
  “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”
  Credited to
  Rita Mae Brown
  Cites
  Narcotics Anonymous "Basic Text" (1981)
  ✓ On the pageEinstein probably didn’t say that famous quote about insanity – Becker's Online Journal
1983
- n1businessinsider.com1983
  “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
  Credited to
  Albert Einstein
  Cites
  Rita Mae Brown's 1983 book "Sudden Death"
  ✓ On the pageMisattributed Quotes - Business Insider
- n7medium.com1983
  “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
  Cites
  Sudden Death by Rita Mae Brown (1983)
  ✓ On the pageThe Definition of Insanity
- n11grammarphobia.com1983
  “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”
  Credited to
  Rita Mae Brown
  Cites
  Yale Book of Quotations (1983)
  ✓ On the pageThe Grammarphobia Blog: Einstein? It’s all relative
2012
- n9youtube.com2012-12-01
  “Did I ever tell you what the definition of insanity is?”
  Credited to
  Voss
  ✓ On the pageFar Cry 3 - Definition of Insanity Cutscene Gameplay (Xbox 360)
2013
- n14web.archive.org2013-08-06
  “It's often said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”
  Credited to
  Albert Einstein
  Found via
  n3, looking for Narcotics Anonymous Basic Text
  ✓ On the page“The definition of insanity” is the most overused cliché of all time | Salon.com
2017
- n6professorbuzzkill.com2017-05-29
  “Albert Einstein: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
  Credited to
  Albert Einstein
  ✓ On the pageAlbert Einstein: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Professor Buzzkill
2025
- n4pedroinnecco.com2025
  “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
  ✓ On the pageEinstein Insanity Quote—Why Repetition Isn’t Always Madness • Pedro Innecco
2026
- n8chrisguillebeau.com2026
  “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
  Credited to
  Chris Guillebeau (page discusses the quote but does not credit a single originator for the saying itself in the excerpt)
  Cites
  Narcotics Anonymous literature from the early 1980s
  ✓ On the pageDefinition of Insanity: Why Doing Things Differently Isn't Enough | Chris Guillebeau
No date
- n13goodreads.com
  “Insanity is doing the same thin[g], over and over again, but expecting different results.”
  Credited to
  Rita Mae Brown
  ≈ Close match on the pageQuote by Rita Mae Brown: “Unfortunately, Susan didn't remember what Jane ...”
- n12artsandculture.google.com
  “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
  Credited to
  Albert Einstein
  ✓ On the pageWho Really Said These 5 Famous Phrases? — Google Arts & Culture