Monday, November 27, 2006

Specialization is for insects.

The meme I completed a couple of days ago reminded me of one of my favorite quotes:
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.
- Robert Heinlein (his character Lazarus Long in Time Enough For Love)
I've always wanted to be a "Renaissance" man. Let's see how I rate on Heinlein's Humanity Test.

change a diaper - yep.
plan an invasion
- only on board games and with my friends capturimg a series of overthrow mound "forts" in the woods at about age 10-12.
butcher a hog - I watched it done, that's challenge enough. My little friend thought it was great sport to press the bladder with his foot to watch the resulting spray! Yuk!
conn a ship - several canoes and rafts and a fishimg boat with a 5hp outboard are my largest ships.
design a building - I spent a portion of my childhood doing this - I was going to be an architect up until I hit algebra. And I've done a little of it as a grown-up.
write a sonnet - my favorite may be the one I wrote as a plea to be transferred from a certain teachers English class in high school.
balance accounts - yep.
build a wall - several, I wrote about one such project here. (The first poem on the page.)
set a bone - nope.
comfort the dying - yes
take orders - sometimes reluctantly
give orders - yep.
cooperate - yep.
act alone - yep.
solve equations - yep.
analyze a new problem - yep.
pitch manure - yep, several truckloads, literally and figuratively.
program a computer - yep.
cook a tasty meal - yep, if I do say so myself.
fight efficiently - I'm not sure about the efficiency, and never literally in my adult life.
die gallantly - only on stage, so far. Come to think of it my most notable death on stage was a figurative one and anything but gallant. But then to think again, I gallantly resisted cursing and running from the stage.

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