# Quote — Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress

> I spent time then soothing Mike down trying to make him happy, having figured out what troubled him — thing that makes puppies cry and causes people to suicide: loneliness. I don't know how a long a year is to a machine that thinks a million times faster than I do. But must be too long.

- Author: [Robert A. Heinlein](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein.md)
- Book: [The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress.md)
- Page: 20
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Moon_Is_a_Harsh_Mistress#Quotes) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress/i-spent-time

## More from this book

> Acronym created by Heinlein for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"; Heinlein and Milton Friedman are sometimes credited with creating this phrase, but it existed well before either's use of it, dating to at least the 1930s.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress/acronym-created-by-heinlein.md)

> Acronym for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch." The origin of this phrase is often misattributed to Heinlein or Milton Friedman, but it actually dates back to at least the 1930s. Heinlein's contribution was to make the acronym for it.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress/acronym-for-there.md)

> What I fear most are affirmative actions of sober and well-intentioned men, granting to government powers to do something that appears to need doing.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-a-heinlein/the-moon-is-a-harsh-mistress/what-i-fear.md)