when faced with a problem you do not understand, do any part of it you do understand, then look at it again. Robert A. Heinlein More Quotes by Robert A. Heinlein More Quotes From Robert A. Heinlein Expertise in one field does not carry over into other fields. But experts often think so. The narrower their field of knowledge the more likely they are to think so. Robert A. Heinlein scienceknowledgethinking And suddenly I knew I was people and could not stop laughing. Robert A. Heinlein laughingpeople I was not offended, my love. An insult is like a drink; it affects one only if accepted. And pride is too heavy baggage for my journey. Robert A. Heinlein baggagepridejourney All my enemies are self-appointed. Robert A. Heinlein selfenemy In past history popularly elected governments have been no better and sometimes far worse than overt tyrannies. Robert A. Heinlein governmentsometimespast There is no such thing as 'social gambling.' Either you are there to cut the other bloke's heart out and eat it -- or you're a sucker. If you don't like this choice -- don't gamble. Robert A. Heinlein gamblingcuttingheart Goodness without wisdom always accomplishes evil. Robert A. Heinlein goodnesswisdomevil Women seem to have almost unlimited capacity for forgiveness. (Since it is usually a man who needs forgiveness, this must be a racial survival trait. Robert A. Heinlein survivalmenneeds Being generous is inborn; being altruistic is a learned perversity. No resemblance -- Robert A. Heinlein being-generousperversitygenerous The worst that can possibly have happened to him is death and that we are all in for---if not this morning, then in days, or weeks, or years at most. Robert A. Heinlein weekmorningyears It is said that God notes each sparrow that falls. And so He does. But the proper closest statement of it that can be made in English is that God cannot avoid noting the sparrow because the Sparrow is God. And when a cat stalks a sparrow both of them are God, carrying out God's thoughts. Robert A. Heinlein catgodfall In the eighty or ninety years I have given to this subject, trying to trace out the meanderings of their twisty little minds, the only thing that I have learned for certain about women is that when a gal is gonna, she's gonna. All a man can do is cooperate with the inevitable. Robert A. Heinlein womenmindyears It's a man's business to be what he is, and to be it in style. Robert A. Heinlein stylemen Pessimist by policy, optimist by temperament- it is possible to be both. How? By never taking an unnecessary chance and by minimizing the risks you can't avoid. This permits you to play out the game untroubled by the certainty of the outcome. Robert A. Heinlein riskgamesplay Sin is cruelty and injustice, all else is peccadillo. Robert A. Heinlein crueltyinjusticesin Sin is cruelty and injustice, all else is peccadillo. Oh, a sense of sin comes from violating the customs of your tribe. But breaking custom is not sin even when it feels so; sin is wronging another person. Robert A. Heinlein tribesinjusticesin Most gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child. Robert A. Heinlein moralchildrenreligion In a mature society, 'civil servant' is semantically equal to 'civil master.' Robert A. Heinlein equalmaturemasters Paymasters come in only two sizes: one sort shows you where the book says that you can't have what you've got coming to you; the second sort digs through the book until he finds a paragraph that lets you have what you need even if you don't rate it. Robert A. Heinlein sizetwobook I believe that this hairless embryo with the aching, oversize brain case and the opposable thumb, this animal barely up from the apes, will endure --will endure longer than his home planet, will spread out to the other planets, to the stars, and beyond, carrying with him his honesty, his insatiable curiosity, his unlimited courage --and his noble essential decency. This I believe with all my heart. Robert A. Heinlein honestystarsbelieve
