20th century's greatest SciFi writer on science, luck, and more

Robert Heinlein was one of the most influential Sci-Fi writers of the 20th century. Ray Bradbury, the writer of Fahrenheit 451, said that Heinlein's influence on science fiction "cannot be measured." Here are Heinlein's 9 powerful aphorisms on science, sin, and luck👇

On thinking well: "Shun wishful thinking, ignore divine revelation, forget what "the stars foretell," avoid opinion, care not what the neighbors think, never mind the unguessable "verdict of history"--what are the facts, and to how many decimal places?"

A new definition of sin: "Sin lies only in hurting other people unnecessarily. All other sins are invented nonsense." Here, Heinlein says that there's such a thing as necessary pain. Further, sin is when pain is inflicted needlessly without any advantage gained for anyone.

On emotion vs reason: "Man is not a rational animal, he is a rationalizing animal." Jonathan Haidt, a cognitive scientist, has shown that people arrive at decisions first and look for supporting reason later. The decision itself is formed via gut instinct and emotion.

The therapeutic value of science fiction: "I think that science fiction, even the corniest of it, even the most outlandish of it, no matter how badly it's written, has a distinct therapeutic value because all of it has as its primary postulate that the world does change."

Luck vs preparation: "There is no such thing as luck. There is only adequate or inadequate preparation to cope with a statistical universe." The idea of a statistical universe is interesting - everything has odds, and the trick to winning is to know the odds and take smart risks.

Humans must master multiple disciplines: "A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, design a building, write a sonnet, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently. Specialization is for insects."

On Patriotism: "Patriotism is not sentimental nonsense. Nor something dreamed up by demagogues. Patriotism is as necessary a part of man's evolutionary equipment as are his eyes, as useful to the race as eyes are to the individual." Patriotism is a "pragmatic" necessity.

The trick to growing up well: "I think the major problem in growing up is to become sophisticated without becoming cynical." One must lose one's naivete, but not the innocence, wonder, and openness of childhood.

How to solve a problem if the solution is evasive: "In a dilemma, it is helpful to change any variable, then reexamine the problem." There are lots of moving parts in every problem - a mental experiment where you remove some variables can provide the missing insight.