Science Quote by Isaac Asimov

Asimov lands the knife with a scientist's calm precision: he divides writers the way you might classify organisms, then reveals the punchline that makes the taxonomy feel inevitable. The neat "two groups" setup promises insight, but the symmetry of the categories collapses the distinction. Visible bleeding or secret bleeding - either way, everybody bleeds. The humor isn't just in the exaggeration; it's in the refusal to romanticize authorship as thick-skinned genius. Writing, he suggests, is an exposure sport, and criticism finds the soft tissue.

The subtext is a quiet rebuke to the myth of the impervious professional. Bad reviews don't merely "sting"; they trigger a bodily, involuntary response. Asimov's choice of "copiously" is doing heavy lifting: not a drop, not a scratch, but an embarrassing spill. That word undercuts the idea that pain can be neatly managed by maturity, fame, or output. If even prolific writers hemorrhage, resilience isn't the absence of hurt - it's the choreography of how you hide it.

Context matters: Asimov wasn't just a novelist; he was a hyperproductive public intellectual in an era when gatekeepers (editors, reviewers, prestigious magazines) could define a career's legitimacy. His own fame made him an ideal witness: he had enough success to speak without pleading, and enough exposure to know that acclaim doesn't inoculate you. The line reads like backstage advice delivered with a grin: don't trust the swagger. Even the loudest author at the bar is probably bleeding; they're just deciding where.