"Attend me. How do you prove that there are eggs in a bird’s nest? Don’t strain your gray matter: go climb the tree and find out. There is no other way."

"Learning isn’t a means to an end; it is an end in itself."

"I decided not to cross any bridges I had burned behind me."

"Parents probably don’t know that they are playing favorites even when they are doing it."

"I don’t know; maybe Frank had good intentions, but I sometimes think “good intentions” should be declared a capital crime."

"When it comes down to it, the root cause of war is always population pressure no matter what other factors enter in."

"“Pat, can’t you get it through your thick head to leave well enough alone?” “I don’t see what’s wrong with my logic.” “Since when was an emotional argument won by logic?”"

"I was confused. I didn’t feel telepathic; I merely felt hungry."

"But don’t say you don’t need money; that’s immoral."

"Rod...were you born that stupid? Or did you have to study?"

"When you haven’t data, guessing is illogical."

"Shaving, the common cold, and taxes...my old man says those are the three eternal problems the race is never going to lick."

""Good stories are rarely true."

"“From the ignoramuses we get for recruits I’ve reached the conclusion that this new-fangled ‘functional education’ has abolished studying in favor of developing their cute little personalities.”"

"One time in a hundred a gun might save your life; the other ninety-nine it will just tempt you into folly."

"Man is not a rational animal; he is a rationalizing animal."

"When a cat greets you, he makes a big operation of it, bumping, stropping your legs, buzzing like mischief. But when he leaves, he just walks off and never looks back. Cats are smart."

"Cut it out. If there is anything stupider that flogging yourself over something you can’t help, I’ve yet to meet it."

"The death rate is the same for us as for anybody...one person, one death, sooner or later."

"Remember, though, your best weapon is between your ears and under your scalp—provided it’s loaded."

"Madam, the commonest weakness of our race is our ability to rationalize our most selfish purposes."

"“You mean that, Henry?” “I always mean what I say, sir. It saves time.”"

"Fact is, you work too hard...the universe won’t run down if you don’t wind it."

"“Heredity isn’t everything; I’m myself, an individual. You aren’t your parents. You’re not your father, you are not your mother. But you are a little late realizing it.” She sat up straight. “So be yourself, Knothead, and have the courage to make your own mess of your life. Don’t imitate somebody else’s mess.”"

"I do not like weapons, Doctor; they are the last resort of faulty diplomacy."

"“May I say without offense that the reception given my sort on your great planet is sometimes something that one must be philosophical about?” “I know. I’m sorry. My own people, most of them, are honestly convinced that the prejudices of their native village were ordained by the Almighty. I wish it were different.”"

"If you can’t outargue the other fellow, sometimes you can outlive him."

"“I talked with it, boss. It’s stupid.” “I can’t see that you have established that. Assuming that an e.-t. is stupid because he can’t speak our language well is like assuming that an Italian is illiterate because he speaks broken English. A non-sequitur.”"

"Any organization calling itself “The Friends of This or That” always consisted of someone with an axe to grind, plus the usual assortment of prominent custard heads and professional stuffed shirts."

"It seemed to John that most of the older people in the world spent much of their time not listening."

"The law is whatever you can convince a court it is."

"“I guess I don’t understand women.” “That’s an understatement.”"

"“Mr. Jones, has it ever occurred to you, the world being what it is, that women sometimes prefer not to appear too bright?”"

"“You know, Ellie, you play this game awfully well—for a girl.” “Thank you too much.” “No, I mean it. I suppose girls are probably as intelligent as men, but most of them don’t act like it. I think it’s because they don’t have to. If a girl is pretty, she doesn’t have to think.”"

"Oh Max, you large lout, you arouse the eternal maternal in me."

"Sic transit gloria mundi—Tuesday is usually worse."

"Like searching at midnight in a dark cellar for a black cat that isn’t there."

"A distance “as the crow flies” is significant only to crows."

"Everybody has a skeleton in the closet; the thing is to keep ’em there and not at the feast."

"Max opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again. “No.” “Speak louder. You used a word I don’t understand.”"

"But as grandpop always said, there are just three ways to get ahead; sweat and genius, getting born into the right family, or marrying into it."

"Wherever there is power and mass to manipulate, Man can live."

"Go ahead. Go right ahead. Don’t let me discourage you. Any objections from me would simply confirm your preconceptions."

"“It didn’t happen that way,” Roger Stone cut in, “so there is no use talking about other possibilities. They probably aren’t really possibilities at all, if only we understood it.” Pollux: “Predestination.” Castor: “Very shaky theory.” Roger grinned. “I’m not a determinist and you can’t get my goat. I believe in free will.” Pollux: “Another very shaky theory.” “Make up your minds,” their father told them. “You can’t have it both ways.” “Why not?” asked Hazel. “Free will is a golden thread running through the frozen matrix of fixed events.” “Not mathematical,” objected Pollux. Castor nodded. “Just poetry.” “And not very good poetry.”"

"The situation has multifarious ramifications not immediately apparent to the unassisted optic."

"“You have us going faster than light.” “I thought the figures were a bit large.”"

"If you’re going to be businessmen, don’t confuse the vocation with larceny."

"Mr. Stone was satisfied, being sure in his heart that any person skilled with mathematical tools could learn anything else he needed to know, with or without a master."

"Every technology goes through three stages: first a crudely simple and quite unsatisfactory gadget; second, an enormously complicated group of gadgets designed to overcome the shortcomings of the original and achieving thereby somewhat satisfactory performance through extremely complex compromise; third, a final stage of smooth simplicity and efficient performance based on correct understanding of natural laws and proper design therefrom."