--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our behavior is different. How often have…" description: "\"Our behavior is different. How often have you seen a headline like this?--TWO DIE ATTEMPTING RESCUE OF DROWNING CHILD. If a man gets lost in the mounta..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/robert-a-heinlein-209_arithmetic_our-behavior-is-different-how-often-have_2389183.jpg" --- # Our behavior is different. How often have you seen a… ![“Our behavior is different. How often have you seen a headline like this?--TWO DIE ATTEMPTING RESCUE OF DROWNING CHILD. If a man gets lost in the mountains, hundreds will search and often two or three searchers are killed. But the next time somebody gets lost just as many volunteers turn out. Poor…” quote by Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/robert-a-heinlein-209_arithmetic_our-behavior-is-different-how-often-have_2389183.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/robert-a-heinlein-209_arithmetic_our-behavior-is-different-how-often-have_2389183.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/robert-a-heinlein-209_arithmetic_our-behavior-is-different-how-often-have_2389183.jpg) > “Our behavior is different. How often have you seen a headline like this?--TWO DIE ATTEMPTING RESCUE OF DROWNING CHILD. If a man gets lost in the mountains, hundreds will search and often two or three searchers are killed. But the next time somebody gets lost just as many volunteers turn out. Poor arithmetic, but very human. It runs through all our folklore, all human religions, all our literature--a racial conviction that when one human needs rescue, others should not count the price.” [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. People often underestimate the cost of rescue, assuming others will help without considering personal risk, revealing a bias toward altruism. **In simple terms:** Rescue efforts ignore personal danger. Key Takeaway Balance willingness to help with realistic risk assessment. Themes altruism risk perception human nature Mood cautious thoughtful Type ethical analytical When to use this quote - emergency response - volunteer work - public policy - community planning Key Concepts ethical dilemmas social responsibility cost‑benefit analysis Questions to Reflect On - When should personal safety outweigh helping others? - How can societies better prepare volunteers for dangerous rescues? A Different Perspective Idealistic rescue expectations can lead to tragedy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arithmetic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/) [Attempting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempting/) [Attempting Rescue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attempting-rescue-5944639/) [Behavior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behavior/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Different](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different/) [Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowning/) [Folklore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folklore/) [Habits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/habits/) [Headlines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/headlines/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Mountain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mountain/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Needs Rescue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs-rescue-5944640/) [Next](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next/) [Next time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/next-time/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Rescue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rescue/) [Rescue Count](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rescue-count-5944638/) [Rescue Drowning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rescue-drowning-1058336/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Searchers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/searchers/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Volunteer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/volunteer/) ## Related quotes > [Rescue the drowning and tie your shoestrings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/rescue-the-drowning-and-tie-your-shoestrings/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [ We \[with John Logan\] started talking about The Searchers, and then he went on to tell me a story about when he first met… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-spiner/we-with-john-logan-started-talking-about-the-searchers-and-then-he/) [Brent Spiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-spiner/) > [It seems almost oxymoronic to believe that this new idealism has led to a new pessimism about marriage, but that is exactly what has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/it-seems-almost-oxymoronic-to-believe-that-this-new-idealism-has-led/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [I like to say, when asked why I pursue science, that it is to satisfy my curiosity, that I am by nature a searcher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-archibald-wheeler/i-like-to-say-when-asked-why-i-pursue-science-that-it-is-to-satisfy/) [John Archibald Wheeler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-archibald-wheeler/) > [I have known only one way of carrying on missionary work, viz., by personal example and discussion with searchers for knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-known-only-one-way-of-carrying-on-missionary-work-viz-by/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In every true searcher of Nature there is a kind of religious reverence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/in-every-true-searcher-of-nature-there-is-a-kind-of-religious/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [We are in a period of searchers rather than of creators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-in-a-period-of-searchers-rather-than-of-creators/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Thinking carries a moral imperative. The searcher for truth must be ready to obey truth without reservation or it will elude him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/thinking-carries-a-moral-imperative-the-searcher-for-truth-must-be/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [This is also why it is wrong to treat God as a grand employment agency, a celestial executive searcher to find perfect fits for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/this-is-also-why-it-is-wrong-to-treat-god-as-a-grand-employment/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [My family and I are hooked on 'The Searchers.' I can't get enough of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/my-family-and-i-are-hooked-on-the-searchers-i-can-t-get-enough-of-it/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [We searchers are ambitious only for life itself, for everything beautiful it can provide. Most of all we love and want to be loved.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kavanaugh/we-searchers-are-ambitious-only-for-life-itself-for-everything/) [James Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kavanaugh/) > [Rely upon your own judgment; be true to your own conscience; follow the light that is within you; all outward lights are so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-allen/rely-upon-your-own-judgment-be-true-to-your-own-conscience-follow-the/) [James Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-allen/) > [Searchers after horror haunt strange, far places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/searchers-after-horror-haunt-strange-far-places/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [Women are dirt searchers; their greatest worth is irradicating rings on collars and tables. Never mind real-estate boards' corruption and racism, here's your soapsuds.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florynce-kennedy/women-are-dirt-searchers-their-greatest-worth-is-irradicating-rings/) [Florynce Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florynce-kennedy/) > [I am a searcher... I always was... and I still am... searching for the missing piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/i-am-a-searcher-i-always-was-and-i-still-am-searching-for-the-missing/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) ## 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. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Nor would anybody suspect. If was one thing all people took for granted, was conviction that if you feed honest figures into a computer,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/nor-would-anybody-suspect-if-was-one-thing-all-people-took-for/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Women will forgive anything. Otherwise, the race would have died out long ago.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/women-will-forgive-anything-otherwise-the-race-would-have-died-out/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Most neuroses and some psychoses can be traced to the unnecessary and unhealthy habit of daily wallowing in the troubles and sins of five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/most-neuroses-and-some-psychoses-can-be-traced-to-the-unnecessary-and/) [Robert A. 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 Arithmetic quotes > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head to your hand to your pencil to your paper till you get the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/arithmetic-is-numbers-you-squeeze-from-your-head-to-your-hand-to-your/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) > [I am pretty good at arithmetic, and I know that the fight in front of us is a very, very steep fight. But we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-merkley/i-am-pretty-good-at-arithmetic-and-i-know-that-the-fight-in-front-of/) [Jeff Merkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-merkley/) > [Arithmetic has began to totter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gottlob-frege/arithmetic-has-began-to-totter/) [Gottlob Frege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gottlob-frege/) > [Economics is half psychology and half Grade Three arithmetic, and the U.S. does not now have either half right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-black/economics-is-half-psychology-and-half-grade-three-arithmetic-and-the/) [Conrad Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-black/) > [The cumulative weight of all mortal sins--past, present, and future--pressed upon that perfect, sinless, and sensitive Soul! All our infirmities and sicknesses were somehow,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/the-cumulative-weight-of-all-mortal-sins-past-present-and-future/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [Geometry, like arithmetic, requires for its logical development only a small number of simple, fundamental principles. These fundamental principles are called the axioms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hilbert/geometry-like-arithmetic-requires-for-its-logical-development-only-a/) [David Hilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hilbert/) > [When I was at school, I was terrible at algebra and arithmetic, but I was always the best at English and literature. And acting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/when-i-was-at-school-i-was-terrible-at-algebra-and-arithmetic-but-i/) [Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/) > [“A goal of this book has been to tear down in some small part these barriers to understanding by attempting to shatter the “divinity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-arnell-williams/a-goal-of-this-book-has-been-to-tear-down-in-some-small-part-these/) [G. Arnell Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-arnell-williams/) > [Man is a rational animal—so at least I have been told. … Aristotle, so far as I know, was the first man to proclaim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/man-is-a-rational-animal-so-at-least-i-have-been-told-aristotle-so/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [The mortal enemies of Social Security and Medicare are those who, in contempt of the plain arithmetic, continue to mislead Americans that we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-daniels/the-mortal-enemies-of-social-security-and-medicare-are-those-who-in/) [Mitch Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-daniels/) > [Arithmetic arithmetock Turn the hands back on the clock How does the ocean rock the boat? How did the razor find my throat? The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/arithmetic-arithmetock-turn-the-hands-back-on-the-clock-how-does-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Long before I learned to do a sum in arithmetic or describe the shape of the earth, Miss Sullivan had taught me to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/long-before-i-learned-to-do-a-sum-in-arithmetic-or-describe-the-shape/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Arithmetic starts with the integers and proceeds by successively enlarging the number system by rational and negative numbers, irrational numbers, etc... But the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-robinson/arithmetic-starts-with-the-integers-and-proceeds-by-successively/) [Abraham Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-robinson/) > [The loony legacy of money was that the arithmetic by which things were measured had become more valuable than the things themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-loony-legacy-of-money-was-that-the-arithmetic-by-which-things/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 233 Arithmetic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arithmetic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our behavior is different. How often have you seen a headline like this?--TWO DIE ATTEMPTING RESCUE OF DROWNING CHILD. If a man gets lost in the mountains, hundreds will search and often two or three searchers are killed. But the next time somebody gets lost just as many volunteers turn out. Poor arithmetic, but very human. It runs through all our folklore, all human religions, all our literature--a racial conviction that when one human needs rescue, others should not count the price.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert A. Heinlein" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/our-behavior-is-different-how-often-have-you-seen-a-headline-like/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Arithmetic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/our-behavior-is-different-how-often-have-you-seen-a-headline-like/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/robert-a-heinlein-209_arithmetic_our-behavior-is-different-how-often-have_2389183.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/robert-a-heinlein-209_arithmetic_our-behavior-is-different-how-often-have_2389183.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/338/robert-a-heinlein-209_arithmetic_our-behavior-is-different-how-often-have_2389183.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our behavior is different. How often have you seen a headline like this?--TWO DIE ATTEMPTING RESCUE OF…” — Robert A. Heinlein", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Robert A. Heinlein", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Our behavior is different. How often...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/our-behavior-is-different-how-often-have-you-seen-a-headline-like/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/our-behavior-is-different-how-often-have-you-seen-a-headline-like/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```