[trentnix]

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, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

— Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

[yeezyseezy]

I swear Heinlein reuses this in Stranger in a Strangeland. Maybe he was an anti-specialization specialist.

[rubidium]

17/22 at 35 years old. Hope to not have to fight in a war or set a bone, and I’d rather die peacefully.

But game to grow :)

[MaxBarraclough]

> Specialization is for insects.

Was going strong right up until this.

Figured he was going for jack of all trades, master of one. Attacking specialization outright is just silly.

[ampersandy]

In context, the quote is actually from a list of principles/observations the character has written in a notebook. I do not read it as an argument that mastering a skill/field is bad, but simply an observation that never bothering to learn new skills would be rather boring.

[downrightmike]

Yes, the ideal Captain Kirk was modeled on. Too bad Heinlein was a horrible, horrible person.

[swyx]

and what did he specialize in, pray tell?