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

> When Mike was installed in Luna, he was pure thinkum, a flexible logic — "High-Optional, Logical, Multi-Evaluating Supervisor, Mark IV, Mod. L" — a HOLMES FOUR. He computed ballistics for pilotless freighters and controlled their catapult. This kept him busy less than one percent of time and Luna Authority never believed in idle hands. They kept hooking hardware into him — decision-action boxes to let him boss other computers, bank on bank of additional memories, more banks of associational neural nets, another tubful of twelve-digit random numbers, a greatly augmented temporary memory. Human brain has around ten-to-the-tenth neurons. By third year Mike had better than one and a half times that number of neuristors.
>
> And woke up.

- 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)
- 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/when-mike-was

## 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)