The most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you cut away the fat.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
Democracy is based on the assumption that a million men are wiser than one man. How's that again? I missed something.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the belief in collective wisdom over individual wisdom.
Robert A. Heinlein's quote emphasizes the foundational premise of democracy that collective decision-making, derived from the perspectives and experiences of many individuals, is inherently wiser than that of a single person. It suggests a skepticism about the assumption that a large group of people, because of their diverse viewpoints and knowledge, can arrive at better decisions than an individual, questioning both the validity and the practical implementation of democratic principles.
Themes
DemocracyWisdomCollectiveDecisionsIndividual
In practice
Example use cases
During a debate on governance, one might use this quote to support the value of public input.
More from Robert A. Heinlein
All quotes βAn armed society is a polite society.
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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.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
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.
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Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.
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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.
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What a host of little incidents, all deep-buried in the past -- problems that had once been urgent, arguments that had once been keen, anecdotes that were funny only because one remembered the fun. Did any emotion really matter when the last trace of it had vanished from human memory; and if that were so, what a crowd of emotions clung to him as to their last home before annihilation? He must be kind to them, must treasure them in his mind before their long sleep.
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Oh! why was I born with a different face? why was I not born like the rest of my race? when I look,each one starts! when I speak, I offend; then Im silent & passive & lose every friend. Then my verse I dishonour, my pictures despise, my person degrade & my temper chastise; and the pen is my terror, the pencil my shame; all my talents I bury, and dead is my fame. Im either too low or too highly prized; when elate I m envy'd, when meek Im despis'd
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