QuoteProject
I do know that the slickest way to lie is to tell the right amount of truth--then shut up.
Robert A. Heinlein
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The most effective way to deceive is by mixing truth with silence.

This quote suggests that the most cunning form of lying involves providing truthful information strategically while withholding certain essential parts of the story. By revealing just enough truth and maintaining silence on key elements, one can manipulate perceptions and create a false narrative that is convincing yet dishonest.

Themes

TruthLieDeceptionSilenceWisdom

In practice

Example use cases

In a debate about ethics, this quote could highlight the dangers of presenting misleading information.

More from Robert A. Heinlein

The most important lesson in the writing trade is that any manuscript is improved if you cut away the fat.
Robert A. HeinleinRead
An 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

All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. If we do not transform our pain, we will transmit it to those around us.
Richard RohrRead
Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than in passive agreement, for, if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
Bertrand RussellRead
We have faith that future generations will know here, in the middle of the twentieth century, there came a time when men of good will found a way to unite, and produce, and fight to destroy the forces of ignorance, and intolerance, and slavery, and war.
Franklin D. RooseveltRead
Women are real. Our reality covers the whole human megillah, from feeble to fierce, from bad to good, from endangered to dangerous. We don't just deserve power, we have it. And power in this and every other society is not just the capacity to benefit those around us.
Katherine DunnRead
Wisdom comes from experience. Experience is often a result of lack of wisdom.
Terry PratchettRead
Failure is a great teacher and, if you are open to it, every mistake has a lesson to offer.
Oprah WinfreyRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.