Origin of 'I am shown and I forget'

Posted by Gareth Noakes on March 29, 2003

Does anyone know the definitive origin of the folowing?
"I see and I forget. I hear and I remember. I do and I understand."
There appear to be a number of variations, e.g. "I am shown and I forget, I touch and I remember, I do and I understand"
Previous attempts to unearth the true origin have yielded 'Confusious', 'Some ancient Greek' or an ancient chinese proverb.
My wife is using the phrase within an assignment and would like to be able to correctly reference the original source.
Can anyone help?
Many thanks
G

• Origin of 'I see and I forget' TheFallen 03/29/03
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