"A human being should be able ..." Quiz

Answer:

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) was a bit like his best-known character, Woodrow Wilson Smith, known as Lazarus Long. In the 2000 year life of Long, he had mastered a remarkable number of skills/trades. Likewise, Heinlein was graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in engineering, served as a radio officer on an aircraft carrier, served as a gunnery officer aboard a destroyer, worked as a civil aeronautical engineer, silver miner, science fiction author, political candidate, and stonemason. He authored 32 novels, 59 short stories, and 16 collections during his career. These produced nine motion pictures, two television series, and a board game.

Among these, one of the most popular and widely read novels is "Time Enough for Love" (1973). In 1970, Heinlein was stricken with peritonitis and spent two years in life-saving recovery. As he healed, he began to write "Time Enough for Love." It purports to be excerpts from the life story of Woodrow Wilson Smith, known as Lazarus Long. There is a lot from which to excerpt as Long is the oldest living human, over 2000 years old. The author returns to a character who is the "competent man" -- one of Heinlein's enduring models of a person with great knowledge, great skill, and great determination. Although such a competent hero may have significant flaws, he or she can conquer whatever obstacle may appear. "Time Enough for Love" introduces themes which continue in much of his subsequent fiction: individualism, libertarianism, and free love.

The quotation about being a competent person is attributed to Lazarus Long, although the partition between author and character is very thin at this point. Long certainly demonstrates all of the enumerated skills and to Heinlein, this is what makes Lazarus both competent and heroic. Because he lived so long, there was time enough for him to learn a remarkable diversity of skills. In the list, tending to a baby's needs is important because such care supports the survival of the species. Military skills are similarly essential to protecting the breed. Butchering and cooking feed the tribe. Medical skills prolong life. Dealing with technology is imperative. Creating literature and attending to the spiritual needs of others are sources of wisdom and comfort. His conclusion -- "Specialization is for insects" -- is not pejorative of necessary specialists in society but is rather an argument against hyper-specialization at the expense of well-rounded generalism.