Some Heinlein quotes part 1

In my search for the - potentially - Robert Heinlein ‘make it idiot-proof and the world/universe will build a better idiot’-style quote (which you can read more about here), I found a number of other quotes by the same author that I had always enjoyed. As I was trying to find the actual source of the main quote, it was relatively easy to record and keep track of them.

These particular quotes became part of our family language, being regularly used in our family for years because we all read these books. They form part of our shared history. 

Those favourites are:

• “I was just pulling your leg and it came off in my hand” (Heinlein, 1967, p. 416; first published in 1941)
  
  
• "Oh, 'tanstaafl.' Means "There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch." And isn’t,' I added, pointing to a FREE LUNCH sign across room, 'or these drinks would cost half as much. Was reminding her [Tish, a street-kid] that anything free costs twice as much in long run or turns out worthless" (Heinlein, 1966, p. 164), though Heinlein was drawing on Morrow (1938, p. 2)
  
  
• "You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity" (Heinlein, 1967, p. 414). This, published originally in 1941, is one of the earliest known variants of an idea which has become known as Hanlon's razor. The next iteration of this was: "one of the hardest things to believe is the abysmal depth of human stupidity” (Heinlein, 1953, p. 46), followed by, in 1973, the later version: "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity" (Heinlein, 1981b, p. 43), which is our favourite. Read more about Hanlon's razor here
  
  
• "Rod... were you born that stupid? Or did you have to study?" (Heinlein, 1955, p. 110) 
  
  
• "There is no such thing as luck; there is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe" (Heinlein, 1958, p. 16)
  
  
• "To be sure, some humans were always doing silly things — but at what point had prime damfoolishness become commonplace? When, for example, had the zombie-like professional models become accepted ideals of American womanhood?" (Heinlein, 1959, p. 20) 
  
  
• "Deety, never monkey with a system that is working well enough — first corollary of Murphy’s Law" (Heinlein, 1980, p. 187). 
  
  
• "Zeb tended to plan ahead — ‘Outwitting Murphy’s Law,’ he called it, ‘ “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” ’ (Grandma called it “The Butter-Side Down Rule’.)" (Heinlein, 1980, p. 70) 
  
  
• Joel, the lead character, says "'Webb? Wrote a book listing forty-nine possible solutions to Fermi's Paradox—and demolished them one by one, leaving only the fiftieth solution, namely: we're alone?'
  "He [Matty] looked as if he'd chased his lemon with milk. 'Webb was an idiot. His analysis presumed that if other life did exist, it could not be more intelligent than him. It was the characteristic flaw of the entire PreCollapse millennium: the assumption of vastly more knowledge than they actually possessed'." Heinlein & Robinson, 2006, p. 194)
  
  
• And we are a family of compulsive readers, so this had resonance for us: "But I didn’t go to sleep. The truth is, I’ve got a monkey on my back, a habit worse than marijuana though not as expensive as heroin. I can stiff it out and get to sleep anyway [... . But t]he fact is I am a compulsive reader. Thirty-five cents’ worth of Gold Medal Original will put me right to sleep. Or Perry Mason. But I’ll read the ads in an old Paris-Match that has been used to wrap herring before I’ll do without" (Heinlein, 1981a, p. 59)

The power of our human stupidity still reigns supreme. But thank goodness for the word smiths out there that can keep holding the mirror up to us, so we can see ourselves :-)

There will likely be an update on this at some point in the future.

Sam

References:

Heinlein, R. A. (1953). Gulf [1949]. In Assignment in Eternity (pp. 7-67). The New American Library.

Heinlein, R. A. (1955). Tunnel in the Sky. Charles Scribner's Sons.

Heinlein, R. A. (1959). The Year of the Jackpot [1947]. In The Menace from Earth (pp. 7-38). New American Library.

Heinlein, R. A. (1966). The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. G. P. Putnam's Sons.

Heinlein, R. A. (1967). Logic of Empire [1941]. In The Past Through Tomorrow (Vols 1 & 2, pp. 375-422). Berkley Medallion Books (G. P. Putnam's Sons).

Heinlein, R. A. (1977). Have Space Suit, Will Travel (first printing 1958). The Ballantine Publishing Group.

Heinlein, R. A. (1980). The Number of the Beast. NEL (New English Library) Paperback.

Heinlein, R. A. (1981a). Glory Road (first edition 1963). New English Library.

Heinlein, R. A. (1981b). Time Enough for Love: The lives of Lazarus Long (first edition 1974). Berkley Books.

Heinlein, R. A., & Robinson, S. (2006). Variable Star. Tor Books.

Morrow, W. (1938, June 26). Magazine section: Economics in Eight Words. The Oklahoma News, p. 2, column 4.