whose sentences are so good that they get mis-ascribed to even more famous authors There seems to be a bucketing algorithm that, over time, labels all the quot

whose sentences are so good that they get mis-ascribed to even more famous authors There seems to be a bucketing algorithm that, over time, labels all the quotes in a bucket with the most famous approximately applicable name. For example, "First they laugh at you..." (early 20th century, subject: social activism) goes to Gandhi instead of Nicholas Klein (who? my point exactly); "Not everything that counts can be counted" (mid 20th century, subject: measuring shit) goes to Einstein instead of William Bruce Cameron. Often the quotes themselves get optimized along the way, so Eliot's "Immature poets imitate, mature poets steal" (mid 20th century, subject: art) goes to Picasso, but as the snappier "Good artists copy, great artists steal". It makes sense that this happens as time recedes, for the same reason that you see only the major landmarks at a distance. But it probably gives us a skewed idea of individual genius.