# Skills everyone should have. "Specialization is for insects"

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781>\
**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:** 4\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![zyzzyva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@zyzzyva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zyzzyva)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/42 "2007-02-27T22:38:46Z")

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I think a lot of these apply to disaster preparedness.

Purify water  
Ride and maintain a bicycle (a motorcycle is nice and all, but useless in a gas shortage and most of us can’t exactly toss one over the shoulder to scurry over a fallen tree)  
Clean and sutre a wound  
Deliver an injection  
Tie basic knots  
Chop wood  
Tell if something is edible (in the “won’t make you sick” sense, not the “everything’s edible once” sense)

More pertinent to everyday life:  
Start and hold a basic conversation  
Understand normal flows of traffic  
Use a search engine  
Ask specific questions  
Address a small audience  
Write a proposal  
Be patient (wouldn’t _that_ be nice?)

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**Author:** ![Menocchio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Menocchio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Menocchio)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/43 "2007-02-27T23:06:43Z")

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Swim  
Cook  
Perform basic maintainance on home and possessions  
Write a persuasive argument  
Analyze/criticize another’s persuasive argument  
First aid  
Math  
Drive a car  
Use a search engine  
Read a map (a road atlas will suffice)  
Settle a heated disagreement non-violently  
Handle personal finances

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**Author:** ![pizzabrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e9c0ed/32.png) [@pizzabrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pizzabrat)\
**Post date:** [February 27, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/44 "2007-02-27T23:15:51Z")

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I know this thread is just for fun, but just FTR, specialization is for advanced societies.

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**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\
**Post date:** [February 28, 2007, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/skills-everyone-should-have-specialization-is-for-insects/393781/45 "2007-02-28T02:43:53Z")

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Top Ten List of skills everyone should have:

1. Dispel Magic

2. Levitate Object

3. Read Magic

4. Charm Monster

5. Control Weather

6. Feign Death

7. Animate Dead

8. Teleport

9. Wish  
And the number one skill everyone should have:

10. [**Cast** Magic Missile!](http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1473/5747827/13552513/234080533.jpg)

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