The most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you cut away the fat.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
You have attributed conditions to villainy that simply result from stupidity.
Interpretation
Mistaking ignorance for malice can lead to misunderstandings about people's intentions.
This quote suggests that often, what we perceive as evil or villainous behavior is not necessarily born out of malicious intent, but rather due to a lack of understanding or knowledge. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing that not all harmful actions are deliberate, and calls for empathy towards those who may simply be acting out of ignorance rather than malice.
In practice
In a discussion about a controversial figure's actions, this quote can highlight the importance of considering ignorance rather than assuming malicious intent.
The most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you cut away the fat.
An armed society is a polite society.
Democracy is a poor system of government at best; the only thing that can honestly be said in its favor is that it is eight times as good as any other method the human race has ever tried.
Long human words (the longer the better) were easy, unmistakable, and rarely changed their meanings . . . but short words were slippery, unpredictable, changing their meanings without any pattern.
Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.
When a place gets crowded enough to require ID's, social collapse is not far away. It is time to go elsewhere. The best thing about space travel is that it made it possible to go elsewhere.
I have an ambition to write a great book, but that's really a competition with myself. I've noticed that a lot of young writers, people in all media, want to be famous but they don't really want to do anything. I can't think of anything less worth striving for than fame.
True opinions can prevail only if the facts to which they refer are known; if they are not known, false ideas are just as effective as true ones, if not a little more effective.
Outward judgment often fails, inward judgment never.
He who pursues fame at the risk of losing his self is not a scholar.
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
The main problem with this great obsession for saving time is very simple: you can't save time. You can only spend it wisely or foolishly. The Bisy Backson has practically no time at all, because he's too busy wasting it by trying to save it. And by trying to save it, he ends up wasting the whole thing.
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