The exact words
Where the line really comes from
The famous “definition of insanity” is everywhere: in business books, political speeches, sports locker rooms and countless social media posts, almost always with Einstein’s name attached. Yet the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, a vast scholarly edition of his writings and correspondence, contain nothing like it, and neither do his recorded interviews.
The earliest version that quotation researchers have found comes from the recovery movement. Literature prepared by Narcotics Anonymous in 1981 described insanity as “repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results.” In recovery groups the line made a pointed observation about addiction: a person keeps using, convinced that this time the outcome will be different. Two years later the novelist Rita Mae Brown put a version in her 1983 novel Sudden Death, where a character attributes it to someone else entirely.
How Einstein got the credit
During the 1990s the line spread into business and self-help writing and began to attract famous names: Einstein most often, but also Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain. Einstein has a special pull for clever-sounding sayings, because his name signals genius; a line credited to him sounds smarter than the same line credited to a support group handbook. The misattribution became so common that many people now learn the quote as “Einstein’s definition of insanity.”
How to use it
The saying is a useful nudge to try something different, and it works well in team talks and meetings. Present it as “the old saying” rather than Einstein’s. In writing, crediting the 1981 recovery literature is accurate and much more interesting.
What people get wrong
Einstein's definition of insanity.
A recovery-movement saying from the early 1980s about breaking the cycle of addiction. It has nothing to do with Einstein.
Timeline
- 1955Einstein dies. Nothing like the saying appears in his collected papers or recorded interviews.
- 1981A version appears in literature of Narcotics Anonymous, the recovery fellowship.
- 1983The novelist Rita Mae Brown uses the line in her novel Sudden Death, where a character credits it to someone else.
- 1990s–todayThe saying becomes attached to Einstein and to Benjamin Franklin and Mark Twain, and is quoted by business leaders and politicians.
Use it in a speech
Questions people ask
Did Einstein say “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”?
No. There is no record of it in Einstein's papers, letters or interviews. The earliest known version appears in Narcotics Anonymous literature in 1981.
Who said it first?
The earliest printed version found by researchers is in the Narcotics Anonymous basic text (1981). Rita Mae Brown also used it in her 1983 novel Sudden Death.
Is it even a correct definition of insanity?
No. It is a rhetorical line, not a medical or legal definition. Psychiatrists do not define insanity this way.
Cite this quote
Don't cite this line as Albert Einstein's words. There is no reliable source showing they said it. The real source is Narcotics Anonymous basic text (earliest known version), so cite that instead. If you need to mention it, say it is “often attributed to Albert Einstein” and, if you want a reference, cite this page:
Sources
- Narcotics Anonymous, Basic Text approval form (1981).
- Rita Mae Brown, Sudden Death (1983).
- Quote Investigator, “Insanity Is Doing the Same Thing Over and Over Again and Expecting Different Results,” 2017.
- The Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, Princeton University Press (digital edition).