# Skills everyone should have. "Specialization is for insects" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 26, 2007, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781 "2007-02-26T22:02:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/22 "2007-02-27T05:41:05Z")
I still have “write a sonnet” on my list, so as soon as I figure that one out I’ll get back to you on what else should be there. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/23 "2007-02-27T05:51:51Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] Who is “RAH”? [/QUOTE] Robert Anson Heinlein. He was an author, specializing in hard science fiction. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/24 "2007-02-27T05:57:14Z")
Oh, Heinlein. I’ve read a few of his stories. ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/25 "2007-02-27T05:58:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Specialization is for insects. And last time I checked\* there were more insects in the world than there are humans (in terms of numbers and in terms of total poundage). Specialization isn’t necessarily so terrible. OK, yes, we humans are generalists, but with civilization specialization has become more common and more important. \*Ok, so I haven’t actually checked, but I’m pretty sure it’s true. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/26 "2007-02-27T08:52:00Z")
[QUOTE=DesertDog] RAH was an Anapolis graduate. “Conning” a ship is [navalese](http://www.hazegray.org/faq/slang1.htm) for giving rudder/engine orders. Not the long term, “We’re going to sail for Portsmouth” but the minute-by-minute “Steer two points starboard so we can pass that freightter safely” stuff. [/QUOTE] Gotta say, that one’s not high on my list. I also, at 26 years of age, have never changed a diaper, but I bet I could figure it out if I had to. I was going to add swim and drive stick to the list–two skills that a surprising number of adults are lacking. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/27 "2007-02-27T09:01:40Z")
[QUOTE=Muad’Dib] How to use and maintain a pistol, a rifle and a shotgun (whether or not you are an American) [/QUOTE] Essential? For non-Americans? Why? And how would it be possible for _everyone_, in a non-gun-owning culture to acquire this skill without turning it into a gun-owning culture? ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/28 "2007-02-27T09:18:50Z")
[QUOTE=Renee] I was going to add swim and drive stick to the list–two skills that a surprising number of adults are lacking. [/QUOTE] It’s not lacking if it’s not necessary. I believe a lot of the responses here are going to be things that the posters themselves have experienced and _think_ that everyone should know it because they have. Changing a diaper is not a skill everyone should have, unless they have a baby to take care of. Nor is speaking a foreign language, know how with firearms, etc… Basic comprehension. Now that’s a skill everyone should have. So simple, yet so complicated for many. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/29 "2007-02-27T09:32:30Z")
**Well rounded individuals must be able to** : -play a decent round of poker (and maybe bridge) -operate a washing machine -critique a game of football, soccer, basketball, or baseball -kiss well -discuss local politics -entertain a child -many things mentioned up-post My parents were always saying, “You don’t know how to do _X_ yet? That’s a life-skill!” and then teaching me how do do it. They had a big list of “life skills” but, of course, I’m now having trouble coming up with very many. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/30 "2007-02-27T09:34:52Z")
It’s interesting that this topic is supposedly about being a generalist, but is really just a list of specialisations; Heinlein’s list does include some general stuff (such as ‘analyze a new problem’). So my suggestion is: -Be able to say ‘how hard could it be?’ ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/31 "2007-02-27T11:05:19Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Nitpick: it wasn’t only _soldiers_ specifically who got the vote in _Starship Troopers_, but “veterans”: anyone who had served society. I understood this to mean solders, civil servants, politicians, volunteers, perhaps even what we would call activists and members of NGOs… but not people who had only done what we would call “private life”. I suspect also that the vote was awarded only after they had finished their service, but I am not sure of this. The book was set during a major war, so of course there were a lot of soldiers around. [/QUOTE] No, civil servants did not get the vote. Only those who had served in the Armed Forces. Notice that when Rico goes to enlist he’s told that if he says he wants to enlist they had to take him… if he was quadraplegic, blind, deaf and wanted to enlist, they’d have to take him and find some post for him. You had to have been a private, and yes, the vote was obtained only once your term of service was over. This detail is mentioned when Rico goes officer. I haven’t read it in years but dang I’ve read that book so many times I used to be able to quote whole paragraphs. On another note: I’m not in the military, nor have I ever been, nor will I ever be (not eligible), but I’ve taken orders and given orders many times. When there’s a fire going, you need someone who says “thextinguisher!” and who gets instantly obeyed, not someone who says “excuse me, would you please bring an extinguisher after submitting the motion to a vote?” ---
**Author:** ![Septima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Septima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Septima)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/32 "2007-02-27T14:00:22Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] No, civil servants did not get the vote. Only those who had served in the Armed Forces. Notice that when Rico goes to enlist he’s told that if he says he wants to enlist they had to take him… if he was quadraplegic, blind, deaf and wanted to enlist, they’d have to take him and find some post for him [/QUOTE] Sure, but your service didn’t have to include soldiering as such - you could spend two years being a human guinea pig, or miner, or “counting the fuzz on a caterpillar by touch” (which was the hypotetical service of the blind, deaf quadriplegic in the doctor’s example). The point was, they had to take you, no matter what shape you were in (unless you were unable to understand what it meant to volunteer). And they _had_ to find a use for you - they could not deny you the chance to earn a citizenship. But, and this is important, you did not get to chose what you were used for - they did, based on what was needed at the moment. I still submit that everyone should know atleast two languages. That way (unless you are the only person left in the world who speaks your two languages), there is always an overlap - you could always build a “chain” of translators to comunicate with someone. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/33 "2007-02-27T14:33:51Z")
A good skill to have would be a mustache, and a sweet bike. ---
**Author:** ![LionelHutz405](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lionelhutz405/32/536_2.png) [@LionelHutz405](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LionelHutz405)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/34 "2007-02-27T15:01:51Z")
[QUOTE=ParentalAdvisory] I I believe a lot of the responses here are going to be things that the posters themselves have experienced and _think_ that everyone should know it because they have. [/QUOTE] I agree. How many people listed something that they themselves don’t know how to do? It’s impossible to come up with a list that applies to everyone. Drive a motorcycle? Why is that so important? (Except under convoluted and unlikely to occur scenarios.) I have two major problems with lists such as this. There is an opportunity cost to learning something (you could spend the time learning something else, which would be more useful) and you need to be able to practice what you have learned or learning it is just a waste of time. For example, I once learned how to tie many complicated knots as part of a boating course I took. I don’t have a boat, never needed to use those knots again, and forgot how to tie them pretty soon after the course ended. ---
**Author:** ![StinkyBurrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@StinkyBurrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StinkyBurrito)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/35 "2007-02-27T15:15:30Z")
I am going to reduce the whole list to just 4 things… 1. Know how to get along with other humans - to socialize and live in a society. This is a very large category and there are many different styles and methods for going about it with varing levels of success. 2. Know how to think critically and problem solve. 3. Know how to find information. 4. Know how to specialize in SOMETHING. After all, the economy and civilization would fall apart as we know it if no one specialized at all. The same person would be just as useful doing brain surgery as they would sweeping floors. But no one would have the time for any of that since we would be to busy hunting our own food, building our own shelters and seeking out drinkable water. Specialization is the foundation of modern advancements, technology, and society. In fact, even neanderthals had specialization within their clans. We’d be back living as primitively as they did without specialization. If you can do those 4 things, you should be able to make it through life in a modern society. ---
**Author:** ![rhythmonly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rhythmonly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhythmonly)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/36 "2007-02-27T17:18:08Z")
1. Read a book. 2. Write a letter. 3. Listen. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/37 "2007-02-27T19:45:00Z")
[QUOTE=LionelHutz405] I agree. How many people listed something that they themselves don’t know how to do? [/QUOTE] Aside from, maybe, the computer bit, I don’t know how to do any of the things I listed. I started this thread to get ideas on new things I should learn. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/38 "2007-02-27T20:40:50Z")
Swim. It can save your life! ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/39 "2007-02-27T21:00:59Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] No, civil servants did not get the vote. Only those who had served in the Armed Forces. Notice that when Rico goes to enlist he’s told that if he says he wants to enlist they had to take him… if he was quadraplegic, blind, deaf and wanted to enlist, they’d have to take him and find some post for him. You had to have been a private, and yes, the vote was obtained only once your term of service was over. This detail is mentioned when Rico goes officer. [/quote] You’re mistaken, I believe. Rico’s friend Carl joins the research and development corps – at best, that’s perhaps a quasi-military function. But more telling is the H&MP class Rico takes in OCS, which has this exchange: > [@](#): > > Major Reid was gentle with him. "Sorry. An appealing theory not backed up by facts. You and I not permitted to vote as long as we remain in the Service, nor is it verifiable that military discipline makes a man self-disciplined once he is out; the crime rate of veterans is much like that of civilians. **And you have forgotten that in peacetime most veterans come from non-combatant auxiliary services and have not been subjected to the full rigors of military discipline; they have merely been harried, overworked, and endangered – yet their votes count."** ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/40 "2007-02-27T21:08:06Z")
[QUOTE=Heinlein] 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. [/QUOTE] Is that a Heinlein quote or a quote of his character Lazarus Long? It sounds like something he had Long say. I cannot write a sonnet and I probably could not fight efficiently, I can do the rest. It is a good list, why argue with the master. 😉 Jim {Two Heinlein threads at once, woohoo! Is it his birthday?} ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/41 "2007-02-27T21:12:20Z")
The quote is from _The Notebooks of Lazarus Long_, I believe. Originally it was marginalia in _Time Enough For Love_. Nope. The Master’s birthday is July 7. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781.md?page=3)