Niven's Laws

By Larry Niven

Never throw shit at an armed man. Never stand next to someone who is throwing shit at an armed man.
Never fire a laser at a mirror.
Mother Nature doesn't care if you're having fun.
F x S = k (The product of Freedom and Security is a constant.)
Psi and/or magical powers, if real, are nearly useless.
It is easier to destroy than to create.
Any damn fool can predict the past.
History never repeats itself.
Ethics changes with technology.
Anarchy is the least stable of social structures.
There is a time and a place for tact.
The ways of being human are bounded but infinite.
The world's dullest subjects, in order:
- Somebody else's diet.
- How to make money for a worthy cause.
- Special Interest Liberation.
There exist minds that think as well as you do, but differently. The gene-tampered turkey you're talking to isn't necessarily one of them.
Never waste calories.
There is no cause so right that one cannot find a fool following it.
No technique works if it isn't used.
Not responsible for advice not taken.
Old age is not for sissies.

Writers who write for other writers should write letters.
Never be embarrassed or ashamed by anything you choose to write.
Stories to end all stories on a given topic, don't.
It is a sin to waste the reader's time.
If you've nothing to say, say it any way you like. If what you have to say is important and/or difficult to follow, use the simplest language possible.
Everybody talks first draft.

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