Tuesday, April 21, 2009
After a line by Robert Heinlein
Cassandra reminded me of this wonderful quotation from Robert Heinlein:A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
Sadly, I admire Heinlein's idea more than I emulate it. I have emboldened those items that I have done, or am quite certain I can do. The others, maybe not. There are few opportunities for efficient fighting or gallant death in today's world -- one has to seek them out, and spoiling for a fight is hardly gallant. But I might add items to Heinlein's list, conveniently things that I have done or know I could do: clean a fish, make a sale, tell a joke, recite at least one fun poem from memory, change a tire, make a bargain and render it into writing, lead people in a cause or effort, teach a child to read, start a business, take a beautiful photograph, and know what to do with a free afternoon in Paris.
List your own.
7 Comments:
By 
GreenmanTim, at
Tue Apr 21, 11:44:00 AM:
Learn the night sky, make music, forage for wild edibles, speak a second language, ride a horse, create a work of art, act with integrity
By 
, at
Tue Apr 21, 01:17:00 PM:
I have that passage type-set in a frame in my living room.
By Georg Felis, at
Tue Apr 21, 01:51:00 PM:
A human being should be able to do their own taxes, on the kitchen table, in one afternoon, put on a bumper sticker without worrying their car will be keyed, speak out for what they think is right without being dragged off for "re-education", have their vote counted correctly the first time without "reevaluation", start a business without having to hire consultants and paperwork filers first, own a piece of property without fear of an endangered species suddenly making it worthless to you, or to have the government take it away because they can have it developed "better", and make a blog post without wandering off into a chaoitic rant about...Oh. Oops. I must be a cat.
By Arthur, at
Tue Apr 21, 05:11:00 PM:
You're being too hard on yourself.
You'll note that other than "fight efficiently" he never said you had to be good at any of those things.
By , at
Tue Apr 21, 08:48:00 PM:
As typical, the American is a clueless idiot.
That philosophy, wisdom, is a foreign to the American should be noted.
Plato's Republic is all about the teaching of "dikaios". It is translated as Justice or Righteousness. Does not Plato teach that each class does ONE thing? Is that not the major motiff of the most famous texts of Western Culture and Civilization?
"Specialization is for Insects"
Who created the Cosmos? Who created and designed Insects to have Specialization?
What does Nature teach?
Obviously it teaches Righteousness. It teaches specialization. Heinlein doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground.
In Xenophon's Oeconomicus, Socrates at v.12 says:
Quote:
""Yet again, the earth willingly teaches righteousnes to those who can learn;"" (Loeb)
See, Righteousness is part and parcel of the Natural Law. It is WISDOM. Are not all our senses centered in a separate organ? Only the eyes see; only the ears hear; only the tongue tastes;...
What does Nature teach? It teaches Specialization. Heinlein is greater than God?
Or is God the Holder of Supreme Wisdom?
The mistake of Heinlein is that he was part of this anti-wisdom country called America. No wonder America is faulty, built by Protestants who hate Philosophy.
It says in Scripture, "Those who hate righteousness---will go wrong". America is proof positive.
By , at
Tue Apr 21, 09:28:00 PM:
Personally, I welcome our new , insect overlords.
I will "specialize" when they pry my cold dead hands off my computer, my socket set, my soldering iron, my lawnmower, my shotgun, my phone, my outdoor grilling set and my drafting table.
A man should be able to do many things well, including learn fast, read with comprehension, teach a worthwhile subject, lead a group, comfort a baby and paint a house. A man also needs to be able to get a wonderful woman to love him.
By , at
Tue Apr 21, 10:16:00 PM:
My first reaction was to say fix a slinky but that is too mundane for this sophisticated group. In my youth I asked an elder what I should do when I grew up. I remember the words well - "You can do anything you really want to do". So I have done that. That includes all of the above and sailing, celestrial navigation, auto mechanics, plumbing, heating, carpentry, electrical work, politics,writing laws,electronics, masonry,roofing,forestry,surveying,engineering,specification writing,blasting, heavy machinery operation, and boring folks like you all with my tales from the trail. We all can do what we really want to do. But we really do not have time to do everything.
