Another bogus Mark Twain quote - about arguing with stupid people

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recently I read an article by Bob Reish at LinkedIn Public Speaking Network titled Rise Above: Avoiding Fruitless Arguments. In it he used the following alleged Mark Twain quotation (and an image):

 

“Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.”

 

But an article by Matt Seybold at the Center for Mark Twain Studies on August 7, 2020 titled The Apocryphal Twain: “Never argue with stupid people. They will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” instead states:

 

“Mark Twain never said these words, nor anything resembling them.”  

 

Ans a more recent article by Garson O’Toole at Quote Investigator on January 29, 2023 titled Quote Origin: Never Argue With Stupid People. They Will Drag You Down To Their Level and Then Beat You With Experience also denied Twain said something like that.

 

My graphic used a 1909 portrait of Twain by A. F. Bradley from Wikimedia Commons.