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He specifically said ‘conn a ship’. Conning is the specific highly technical act of directing the ship while in motion. Navy types are known to be sticklers fo
by YurgenJurgensen 4y ago
He specifically said ‘conn a ship’. Conning is the specific highly technical act of directing the ship while in motion. Navy types are known to be sticklers for precise use of naval terms, so we have no reason to assume it doesn’t mean exactly what it says.
The task you are describing is not design; it’s specification or briefing at best. Heinlein was also an aeronautical engineer. Engineering is are also a profession where imprecise language costs lives.
The hardest one was “plan an invasion”, but I’m sure you’re about to tell me that a former naval officer and author of some of the most famous pieces of military science fiction didn’t really mean “plan an invasion” when he said it, or that despite modern history being full of poorly-planned invasions (and there’s one going on right now), actually it’s something you can learn on a three day course.
- ajkjk 4y agoOh, I totally missed that one. Yeah, sounds like "conn a ship" and "plan an invasion" are actually him just being weirdly militaristic. I guess he thinks everyone should have some career in the military for a while No matter. My complain was that for some reason you were making the other ones sound like they take a long time to learn, which is obviously absurd.
- dsq 4y agoI think his intention was a spaceship/starship. He was a science fiction writer, after all, and most of the Lazarus Long stories take place elsewhere in the Galaxy. A starship can be more or less complicated than a maritime vessel, depending on the onboard computer. Maybe as simple as saying “take me to a nice planet to relax”.