“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.”
The words are attributed to social activist and former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt… Similar statements have been ascribed to philosopher Socrates and U.S. Naval engineer Hyman Rickover.
Henry Thomas Buckle was the originator of the three-part maxim published in 1901. He was building on earlier guidelines about desirable forms of conversation. After 1901 the statement evolved, and the category “things” was changed to “events” in the most common modern version. James H. Halsey and Hyman G. Rickover employed instances of the adage but did not craft it. The connection to Eleanor Roosevelt was spurious.
“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
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