天才=1%的灵感+99%的汗水？真的有后半句吗

Answer 1

　　A. 爱迪生从来没有说过所谓“但那1％的灵感是最重要的，甚至比那99％的汗水都要重要。”这后半句话。

　　B. 至于第一句“天才是百分之一的灵感，和百分之九十九的汗水”能找到一些证据，其中一个比较明确的是，爱迪生在一个记者招待会上是这么说的：“我的发明中没一个是偶然得到的。当我发现一个有价值的需求时，我会不断努力直到成功。总结起来就是天才就是百分之一的灵感加上百分之九十九的勤奋”
　　原文如下：“None of my inventions came by accident. I see a worthwhile need to be met and I make trial after trial until it comes. What it boils down to is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration.”

　　C. 至于后边这半句是怎么来的？
　　是一个美国作家Cindi Myers在一篇题为inspiration and perspiration中引用完爱迪生这句话之后自己做出的感言“如果没有那1%的灵感，世界上所有的汗水也就仅仅是一桶汗水而已。”
　　原文如下：“Without the one percent of inspiration, all the perspiration in the world is only a bucket of sweat”

　　由此，这段公案到此可画一个句号。

Answer 2

其一："Without the one percent of inspiration, all the
perspiration in the world is only a bucket of sweat."这段话, 确实是美
国的当代女作家Cindi Myers说的话，而不是爱迪生说的. 除了以上网页, 还可
以在"Dharma Moments"(Danai Chanchaochai, 2006, ISBN: 1857883853) 一书
的前言中得到旁证:

　　Yes, we do need to work at it sometimes when we’re looking for
answers, but as writer Cindi Myers stylishly points out, “Without the
one percent of inspiration, all the perspiration in the world is only
a bucket of sweat.” (Prapai Kraisornkovit, p.17)

　　其次, Cindi Myers的笔名是Cynthia Sterling. 所以其实都是指向同一人名Sterling. 下面这段简介来自于Cindi Myers个人网站:

　　Cindi sold her first novel in 1997. Writing as Cynthia Sterling,
she wrote seven historical romances for Berkley and Kensington before
turning to contemporary fiction. In 2006 her twenty-fifth book will be
published.

　　也就是说，被佚名作者当作“爱迪生名言“的后半部分，确实应该归属于
Cindi Myers。至此，所以"爱迪生名言遭篡改。