The most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you cut away the fat.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
Most people can't think, most of the remainder won't think, and the small fraction who do think mostly can't do it very well.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The majority of people lack critical thinking skills, and even among those who do think, many struggle to apply it effectively.
This quote by Robert A. Heinlein reflects the author's belief that critical thinking is a rare and underdeveloped skill among most individuals. He suggests that while some people are capable of thought, the effectiveness of their thinking is questionable, highlighting a potential deficiency in our ability to engage with complex ideas and make sound decisions.
Themes
Critical ThinkingMindfulnessIntellectualSelf ReflectionAwareness
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of education, this quote can illustrate the need for teaching critical thinking skills.
More from Robert A. Heinlein
All quotes βAn armed society is a polite society.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
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.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
Progress is made by lazy men looking for easier ways to do things.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
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.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
Similar quotes
Observe due measure, for right timing is in all things the most important factor.
HesiodRead
A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct.
Frank HerbertRead
Young men are apt to think themselves wise enough, as drunken men are apt to think themselves sober enough.
Lord ChesterfieldRead
Men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.
AristotleRead
My eyes are dim with childish tears, My heart is idly stirred, For the same sound is in my ears Which in those days I heard.
William WordsworthRead
The manner in which Epictetus, Montaigne, and Salomon de Tultie wrote, is the most usual, the most suggestive, the most remembered, and the oftener quoted; because it is entirely composed of thoughts born from the common talk of life.
Blaise PascalRead