The lovely ‘I Love Typography’ newsletter this morning brought my attention to the amazing Feneon font family, cut by Teeline Fonts and designed by Craig Eliason. I clicked-through (I really like the interruptions of my email newsletter subs) to find out more and on the landing page was a quote attributed to Werner Heisenberg (the theoretical physicist);

“Every tool carries with it the spirit by which it has been created.” 

It caught my ear, and I couldn’t grasp quite what a. The quote meant to the font nor b. Quite what Heisenberg was getting at. Which, given his smarts, was most likely profound, so I went to try and find out whataboutit.

Now, Heisenberg was, as a said, theoretical physicist. Not that he wasn’t real, as he was. It would be better (well, less ambiguous. But them less humorous. You can’t have it all) to say he was a physicist concerned with theory. Then there’d be no doubt. But then that would have stolen the lovely fact that the quote is entirely theoretical. He never said or wrote this. 

Now I’m sure Teeline used this in good faith, and it doesn’t really matter, as like all quotable quotes they add gravity and can be bended to add a lustre of deeper ideas to almost any activity. The line in question sounds very wisdom-full. It says this tool (font) is imbued with its sources (spirit) - in this case, the all very real mercury, argon, and helium excitedly lighting up glass tubes.

Does it matter that what was said by someone was never actually said by them? Here? Not really.

That constant re-reporting of something attributed to someone was never actually expressed by them? I think that’s worrying.

You never know who’s mouths some words have been in (or not.) Best always to check your sources before setting things out in type.