“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.”
This quote, from an otherwise forgettable book by a generally solid science fiction author, has resonated with me for years and encapsulates my personal philosophy on what general competence should look like.
At times, I’ve even viewed this as a checklist, and have managed to complete almost everything on here, with the exceptions of planning an invasion (unless paintball counts) and dying gallantly. And I generally agree that most people would be better off if they were capable of doing most of the things on this list.
Speaking more generally, this quote pulls at the idea of being a “generalist”—something that runs counter to a lot of conventional wisdom on the value of specialization. By virtue of my ADHD and rampant curiosity, I tend towards being a generalist and this quote provided me with some validation that I wasn’t entirely off-base. More recently, I read Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World, by David Epstein, and found that it confirmed the value I’ve seen in having outside approaches to problem solving by cultivating interests and competency in numerous areas.
Being a competent generalist means having the knowledge, skills, and abilities to handle oneself in (nearly) any situation you might encounter. This generally makes life better. Need some food? It’s pretty useful to be able to cook your own meals. It’s even better if you’re able to cook well and share truly great food with others. Need to solve a problem? It’s awesome to have a range of problem-solving skills available. Something’s broken in your home/your car/your kid’s toy? Having the ability to figure out why something isn’t working and then fix it is quite useful—not to mention its a great way to save money and to reduce waste.
I can’t do better than Heinlein’s wordsmithing, but here’s my attempt at capturing things a modern man should be able to do:
- Care for a small child (including changing a diaper).
- Hunt/fish and prepare food. There is something primal and essential in being able to harvest your own meat—field (or water) to table.
- Cook and bake competently—a good test case would be preparing (from scratch, no cheating) a four-course meal consisting of a Caeser salad, butternut squash soup, a whole roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, sauteed brussels sprouts, a legitimate pan sauce,