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"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 wal
by zikduruqe 5y ago
"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." - Lazarus Long in "Time Enough For Love" by Robert A. Heinlein
- eesmith 5y agoEver noticed that "change a diaper" is one of the easiest parts about raising children? Lazarus Long raised many children - odd that he would single out that one. Heinlein, on the other hand, did not.
- dpeck 5y agoYeah, but if you don’t do it right it takes a long time (relative to the 30s-1m if you do it right) and you’ll have a mess on you’re hands… or floor… afterwards. I look at the pithy little bits in this quote as being standins for the larger acts that they’re part of, and wouldn’t read too much into it.
- eesmith 5y agoStill less than the 16-20 years of raising a child. What is the larger act of "butcher a hog"? Or of planning an invasion? Personally, I think sewing would be more useful to more people than the ability to conn a ship.