Misattributed to various people, including Albert Einstein and Mark Twain. An early occurrence was used as a teaching reference at University of California, Irvine in social science lectures in the later 1960s. Also found in a 1981 text from Narcotics Anonymous.
• An earlier version from 1975, spoken during a public talk by Osho:
• "The mind is always asking you to do something over again, something you have already done so many times before. And every time you see that by doing it nothing is achieved. What else can madness be?"
• And later in the same talk:
• "To be mad is to keep repeating something that has already been seen as useless, as worthless".
Osho, The Great Secret, Chapter #10
• 1975

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

— Benjamin Franklin

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." in the context of "Misattributed to various people, including Albert Einstein and Mark Twain. An early occurrence was used as a teaching reference at University of California, Irvine in social science lectures in the later 1960s. Also found in a 1981 text from Narcotics Anonymous.
• An earlier version from 1975, spoken during a public talk by Osho:
• "The mind is always asking you to do something over again, something you have already done so many times before. And every time you see that by doing it nothing is achieved. What else can madness be?"
• And later in the same talk:
• "To be mad is to keep repeating something that has already been seen as useless, as worthless".
Osho, The Great Secret, Chapter #10
• 1975" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Benjamin Franklin" (Attributed: Attributed: Quotes found in a reputable secondary source but not sourced to an original work. Read more at Wikiquote:Sourced and Unsourced sections.) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Benjamin Franklin

About Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin (17 January 1706 – 17 April 1790) was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A renowned polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and a diplomatic scientific and novice electrician; he was a major figure in the U.S. Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, for keeping bifocals fog-free, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions. He facilitated many civic organizations, including Philadelphia's fire department and the University of Pennsylvania.