evidence: FACT CHECK: Did Albert Einstein Coin This Saying On The ‘Definition Of Insanity’? An image shared on Facebook claims that theoretical physicist Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." [...] This quote may have actually originated with a Narcotics Anonymous pamphlet two years earlier, according to the website Quote Investigator. Printed in 1981, the pamphlet offers a slightly different version of the saying: "Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results."