The Wisdom of Bob

The marvelous Robert A. Heinlein became an instant favorite of mine when I discovered his writing with Stranger in a Strange Land in my misspent youth. Time Enough for Love and I Will Fear No Evil just cemented my affections. There is such purpose to his writing. Philosophy, scientific prophecy, fiction and humanity blended on every page.

I seem to keep having conversations about Heinlein this week, so I've decided to stop fighting it and just splash a random sampling of Heinlein-isms here, just for fun. Enjoy.

There is no way that writers can be tamed and rendered civilized or even cured. The only solution known to science is to provide the patient with an isolation room, where he can endure the acute stages in private and where food can be poked in to him with a stick.

I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do.

To be matter-of-fact about the world is to blunder into fantasy - and dull fantasy at that, as the real world is strange and wonderful.

Don't ever become a pessimist... a pessimist is correct oftener than an optimist, but an optimist has more fun, and neither can stop the march of events.