Robert A. Heinlein Quotes


The shamans are forever yacking about their snake oil miracles. I prefer the real McCoy, a pregnant woman.


Citations

Heinlein, Robert A. Time Enough for Love. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1973.

Related Quotes

1st Baron Macaulay. This issue is still debated in America. Until the latter part of the 20th century, businesses could sell supposed medicines without any proof of efficacy or safety. The Government or others had to prove that there was something wrong with the product. Then, that shifted, and the burden of proof fell on the developer and seller of medicines as Macaulay favored, but sellers of vitamins and dietary supplements were exempted and operated under the previous American (anti Macaulay) position. Ironically, political opponents of requiring the drug company to prove safety and efficacy claimed that this was a radical new, untested idea that would inhibit development of medicinals. They did not realize that 150 years earlier, this was a standard, accepted point of view in England. Even into the 21st century, America operated with the inconsistent difference between vitamins and supplements, many of which have no beneficial effect whatsoever, and medicines.


Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
  • Born: July 7, 1907
  • Died: May 8, 1988
  • Nationality: American
  • Profession: Novelist, Short Story Author, Essayist, Screenwriter, Aeronautical Engineer, Lieutenant USN

Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accuracy in his fiction, and was thus a pioneer of the subgenre of hard science fiction. His published works, both fiction and non-fiction, express admiration for competence and emphasize the value of critical thinking. His work continues to have an influence on the science-fiction genre, and on modern culture more generally.