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Have you ever tried to plan an invasion? Like, actually done a net assessment of a scenario in detail accounting for terrain, equipment, training, intelligence,

Have you ever tried to plan an invasion? Like, actually done a net assessment of a scenario in detail accounting for terrain, equipment, training, intelligence, logistics, and all the other things that go into a military encounter? It is time-consuming and hard. So is efficiently butchering a hog. So is learning to program well. Changing diapers and pitching manure? Not so much. Dying gallantly? Only get to practice that once, so how would you get good at it? People throw this quote around because it is fun to imagine yourself as a supremely Competent Man in all these domains. Indeed, it makes for excellent fiction—-but it is just that, fiction. When you actually start trying to seriously think about investing in specialized skills like military science, this quote quickly reveals itself to have not made any distinction between life skills that the average person should have and things which require years of study.

friedman23 8y ago
The quote is tongue in cheek, you should have probably gotten that on plan an invasion.
- PavlovsCat 8y ago
  It's simply not to be taken that literally but that doesn't make it tongue in cheek. Write some poetry, it helps understanding what others write.
dasmoth 8y ago
My father started butchering lambs based on reading a book, and using tools already around the house (he might have bought a cleaver, but pretty sure that was after he'd done the first few). The first one took quite a while, but worked out fine. Did he ever get as efficient as someone who does it every day? Of course not. But it's very definitely a learnable skill. I do agree that the invasion is a bit of an outlier, although even in that case there are questions of scale. I've always loved that quote, but my reading is: on top of the everyday things, it's worth picking up several skills which require some deep study. No, you won't get them all, but having several -- and being open to learning something new if a good opportunity arises -- is valuable.
- afarrell 8y ago
  Sure, and its useful as an opener to the discussion of when to specialize and when not to. But it isn't an answer to the discussion.

friedman23 8y ago

The quote is tongue in cheek, you should have probably gotten that on plan an invasion.

PavlovsCat 8y ago
It's simply not to be taken that literally but that doesn't make it tongue in cheek. Write some poetry, it helps understanding what others write.

dasmoth 8y ago

My father started butchering lambs based on reading a book, and using tools already around the house (he might have bought a cleaver, but pretty sure that was after he'd done the first few). The first one took quite a while, but worked out fine. Did he ever get as efficient as someone who does it every day? Of course not. But it's very definitely a learnable skill. I do agree that the invasion is a bit of an outlier, although even in that case there are questions of scale. I've always loved that quote, but my reading is: on top of the everyday things, it's worth picking up several skills which require some deep study. No, you won't get them all, but having several -- and being open to learning something new if a good opportunity arises -- is valuable.

afarrell 8y ago
Sure, and its useful as an opener to the discussion of when to specialize and when not to. But it isn't an answer to the discussion.