What should a human being do?

Robert A. Heinlein, a popular (and controversial) science fiction writer, on what a human being should be capable of doing:

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 A. Henlein, Time Enough for Love (1973) p.248

Specialization is, indeed, for insects.

Response

  1. pixill8 Avatar

    Well, of course, that is what preoccupied Shakespeare, too. Hamlet’s speeches are full of these musings and quandaries. I think you’re mature enough now to read it (again?) and pick up on this. Worth the effort.

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