“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.” ~ Robert Heinlein
Do you think Mr. Heinlein could do all this stuff? I don’t think he could. I most certainly can’t.
But could Heinlein “die gallantly”? I think most people tend to leave that one off of their to do lists. I mean if the opportunity arrises, you walk past a burning orphanage for example, why not? But very few people set out to do this one.
Being able to die gallantly doesn’t imply that you should or will die gallantly, only that, should the necessity arise…
Unfortunately, Heinlein reportedly refused cryonics (offered without cost to him, if I recall correctly) because he believed it might interfere with reincarnation. From reading the just-out first volume of his biography, it seems quite likely that he was serious.
Do you think Mr. Heinlein could do all this stuff?
Yes I do. He was a naval lieutenant. He and his third wife designed their own house. It’s a broad set of skills but not amazingly broad. Anyone who is both book-smart and has spent time in highly physical occupations should have a similar spread.
That quote needs it’s punchline! Specialization is for insects.
It’s also easy to think that you know how to do all of those things, if you read instruction manuals and never have an opportunity to find out that you’re wrong.
Also, I’m working on it. I’ll skip on the dying part though.
Actually, there are more layers of deniability than that.
Lazarus Long may have said that, but he may or may not have believed it. He was encouraged to just talk, and he very clearly wasn’t putting together a codified system of what he believed. Also, he was known to lie.
And we don’t have a full transcript of what he was supposed to have said—it was a computer-edited compendium of advice, and the computer may have had her own agenda.
Did Heinlein believe everything in the Notebooks of Lazarus Long was good advice? Or was some of it just characterization?
Getting back to the book, LL had longer to acquire skills than ordinary humans.
And, for a counter-argument, see Brin’s Glory Season—one of the reasons women are in charge is that men think they ought to be good at everything and don’t get the advantages of specialization.
I think he could. Remember, he was a lieutenant in the navy, and a lifetime is enough to pick up most of those skills (although I suppose it might be hard to prove that you could plan an invasion or die gallantly). Certainly most of the people here could change a diaper, plan a building, write a (bad) sonnet, take & give orders, pitch manure, program a computer, and cook a tasty meal.
“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.” ~ Robert Heinlein
Do you think Mr. Heinlein could do all this stuff? I don’t think he could. I most certainly can’t.
It would be astonishing if this list were not pretty much shaped around skills Heinlein happened to have.
But could Heinlein “die gallantly”? I think most people tend to leave that one off of their to do lists. I mean if the opportunity arrises, you walk past a burning orphanage for example, why not? But very few people set out to do this one.
Being able to die gallantly doesn’t imply that you should or will die gallantly, only that, should the necessity arise…
Unfortunately, Heinlein reportedly refused cryonics (offered without cost to him, if I recall correctly) because he believed it might interfere with reincarnation. From reading the just-out first volume of his biography, it seems quite likely that he was serious.
Yes I do. He was a naval lieutenant. He and his third wife designed their own house. It’s a broad set of skills but not amazingly broad. Anyone who is both book-smart and has spent time in highly physical occupations should have a similar spread.
That quote needs it’s punchline! Specialization is for insects.
It’s also easy to think that you know how to do all of those things, if you read instruction manuals and never have an opportunity to find out that you’re wrong.
Also, I’m working on it. I’ll skip on the dying part though.
I was going to mention the heat death of the universe, but surprising breakthroughs do tend to happen, and we have a while to work on it.
That’s actually a quote from a character in one of his novels, I think.
I believe it was Lazarus Long.
Actually, there are more layers of deniability than that.
Lazarus Long may have said that, but he may or may not have believed it. He was encouraged to just talk, and he very clearly wasn’t putting together a codified system of what he believed. Also, he was known to lie.
And we don’t have a full transcript of what he was supposed to have said—it was a computer-edited compendium of advice, and the computer may have had her own agenda.
Did Heinlein believe everything in the Notebooks of Lazarus Long was good advice? Or was some of it just characterization?
Getting back to the book, LL had longer to acquire skills than ordinary humans.
And, for a counter-argument, see Brin’s Glory Season—one of the reasons women are in charge is that men think they ought to be good at everything and don’t get the advantages of specialization.
I think he could. Remember, he was a lieutenant in the navy, and a lifetime is enough to pick up most of those skills (although I suppose it might be hard to prove that you could plan an invasion or die gallantly). Certainly most of the people here could change a diaper, plan a building, write a (bad) sonnet, take & give orders, pitch manure, program a computer, and cook a tasty meal.