--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm always suspicious of disinterested…" description: "\"I'm always suspicious of disinterested interest.\" — Robert A. Heinlein" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/robert-a-heinlein-209_disinterested_i-m-always-suspicious-of-disinterested-i_2701159.jpg" --- # I'm always suspicious of disinterested interest. ![“I'm always suspicious of disinterested interest.” quote by Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/robert-a-heinlein-209_disinterested_i-m-always-suspicious-of-disinterested-i_2701159.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/robert-a-heinlein-209_disinterested_i-m-always-suspicious-of-disinterested-i_2701159.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/robert-a-heinlein-209_disinterested_i-m-always-suspicious-of-disinterested-i_2701159.jpg) > “I'm always suspicious of disinterested interest.” [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Skepticism toward disinterested interest warns that hidden motives can undermine genuine curiosity. **In simple terms:** Beware of feigned interest. Key Takeaway Question motives. Themes skepticism interest motivation Mood cautious thoughtful Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - business meetings - personal relationships - online forums Key Concepts critical thinking social interaction Questions to Reflect On - What signs indicate authentic interest? - How does disinterest affect collaboration? A Different Perspective May be overly cynical. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disinterested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disinterested/) [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Suspicious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicious/) [Suspicious Disinterested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspicious-disinterested-2734579/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think that people are disinterested or uninterested in politics. I think very often they are disengaged from the formal political process. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bercow/i-don-t-think-that-people-are-disinterested-or-uninterested-in/) [John Bercow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bercow/) > [You obviously don't know what an Old Man of the Sea great wealth is. It is not a fat purse and time to spend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/you-obviously-don-t-know-what-an-old-man-of-the-sea-great-wealth-is/) [Robert A. 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It is like a cheerful spirit that leads us through worlds filled with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/few-know-the-joys-that-spring-from-a-disinterested-curiosity-it-is/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [I am bound by my own definition of criticism : a disinterested endeavour to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/i-am-bound-by-my-own-definition-of-criticism-a-disinterested/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [“eager’ and ‘anxious’ aren’t the same, or how ‘disinterested’ doesn’t mean ‘uninterested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-deaver/eager-and-anxious-aren-t-the-same-or-how-disinterested-doesn-t-mean/) [Jeffery Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-deaver/) > [For extending its sway, partly by force of arms, partly by the voluntary submission of weaker tribes, the community soon acquires wealth and slaves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-extending-its-sway-partly-by-force-of-arms-partly-by-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is no pure, disinterested, theory-free observation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/there-is-no-pure-disinterested-theory-free-observation/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“For a time Emerson politely endeavored to conceal his boredom - like most men, he is profoundly disinterested in all children except his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peters/for-a-time-emerson-politely-endeavored-to-conceal-his-boredom-like/) [Elizabeth Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peters/) > [... I was merely a disinterested spectator at the Banquet of Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/i-was-merely-a-disinterested-spectator-at-the-banquet-of-life/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“Emma knew that she'd always been on the wrong side of the line that separated her from her parents, from Patrick and Annie and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-e-smith/emma-knew-that-she-d-always-been-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-line-that/) [Jennifer E. 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Or is it an activity always dependent upon economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-innes/is-science-the-disinterested-pursuit-of-knowledge-which-the-world-may/) [Michael Innes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-innes/) > [An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pulitzer/an-able-disinterested-public-spirited-press-with-trained-intelligence/) [Joseph Pulitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pulitzer/) ## More by Robert A. Heinlein > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Ninety percent of all human wisdom is the ability to mind your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ninety-percent-of-all-human-wisdom-is-the-ability-to-mind-your-own/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. 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Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [No statement should be believed because it is made by an authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/no-statement-should-be-believed-because-it-is-made-by-an-authority/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“Some people are ants by nature; they have to work, even when it’s useless. Few people have a talent for constructive laziness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/some-people-are-ants-by-nature-they-have-to-work-even-when-it-s/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“The instinct to survive is human nature itself, and every aspect of our personalities derives from it. Anything that conflicts with the survival instinct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/the-instinct-to-survive-is-human-nature-itself-and-every-aspect-of/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“I tried to dig out of the computer a call directory for Luna. But it was still sulking. I could not get it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-tried-to-dig-out-of-the-computer-a-call-directory-for-luna-but-it/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“this has more aspects than a cat has hair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/this-has-more-aspects-than-a-cat-has-hair/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Never own more than you can carry in both hands at a dead run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/never-own-more-than-you-can-carry-in-both-hands-at-a-dead-run/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“In Wilson's scale of evaluations breakfast rated just after life itself and ahead of the chance of immortality." ~ By His Bootstraps / Robert A. Heinlein”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/in-wilson-s-scale-of-evaluations-breakfast-rated-just-after-life/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Ignorance is curable, stupid is forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ignorance-is-curable-stupid-is-forever/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) [Explore all 888 Robert A. Heinlein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## More Disinterested quotes > [An able, disinterested, public-spirited press, with trained intelligence to know the right and courage to do it, can preserve that public virtue without which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pulitzer/an-able-disinterested-public-spirited-press-with-trained-intelligence/) [Joseph Pulitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pulitzer/) > [“Is science the disinterested pursuit of knowledge which the world may apply if it will? Or is it an activity always dependent upon economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-innes/is-science-the-disinterested-pursuit-of-knowledge-which-the-world-may/) [Michael Innes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-innes/) > [“The mathematical method is disinterested in the efficient cause and the final cause or the goodness of a thing and it should not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-mathematical-method-is-disinterested-in-the-efficient-cause-and/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [Now that practical skills have developed enough to provide adequately for material needs, one of these sciences which are not devoted to utilitarian ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/now-that-practical-skills-have-developed-enough-to-provide-adequately/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [“Emma knew that she'd always been on the wrong side of the line that separated her from her parents, from Patrick and Annie and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-e-smith/emma-knew-that-she-d-always-been-on-the-wrong-side-of-the-line-that/) [Jennifer E. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-e-smith/) > [... I was merely a disinterested spectator at the Banquet of Life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/i-was-merely-a-disinterested-spectator-at-the-banquet-of-life/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [“For a time Emerson politely endeavored to conceal his boredom - like most men, he is profoundly disinterested in all children except his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-peters/for-a-time-emerson-politely-endeavored-to-conceal-his-boredom-like/) [Elizabeth Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-peters/) > [There is no pure, disinterested, theory-free observation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/there-is-no-pure-disinterested-theory-free-observation/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [For extending its sway, partly by force of arms, partly by the voluntary submission of weaker tribes, the community soon acquires wealth and slaves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-extending-its-sway-partly-by-force-of-arms-partly-by-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“eager’ and ‘anxious’ aren’t the same, or how ‘disinterested’ doesn’t mean ‘uninterested.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffery-deaver/eager-and-anxious-aren-t-the-same-or-how-disinterested-doesn-t-mean/) [Jeffery Deaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffery-deaver/) > [I am bound by my own definition of criticism : a disinterested endeavour to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-arnold/i-am-bound-by-my-own-definition-of-criticism-a-disinterested/) [Matthew Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-arnold/) > [Few know the joys that spring from a disinterested curiosity. It is like a cheerful spirit that leads us through worlds filled with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lancaster-spalding/few-know-the-joys-that-spring-from-a-disinterested-curiosity-it-is/) [John Lancaster Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lancaster-spalding/) > [Agape is disinterested love. . . . Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people, or any qualities people possess. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/agape-is-disinterested-love-agape-does-not-begin-by-discriminating/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [. . . if I had been a man, self-respect, family pressure and the public opinion of my class would have pushed me into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-webb/if-i-had-been-a-man-self-respect-family-pressure-and-the-public/) [Beatrice Webb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-webb/) > [“Some people would regard people who look like they do as ugly if they did not look like them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/some-people-would-regard-people-who-look-like-they-do-as-ugly-if-they/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) [Browse all 144 Disinterested quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disinterested/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm always suspicious of disinterested interest.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert A. 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