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 Heinlein
I keep thinking of this quote lately! “Specialization is for insects.” These evenings in the studio continue to be both fun and intense. It used to be somewhat frustrating to be both musician and engineer; switching from right brain (creativity and spontaneity) with performing to left brain (precision and deliberate focus) for engineering and editing. I can recall the guys in the band and I all having difficulty with it not so long ago. But it’s getting easier to just shift from one to the other. It used to drain the creativity right out of me to have to do analytical work on the computer. This more flexible feeling is so liberating! It feels so empowering to be able feel confident about various skills.
We human beings are much more capable than we know and probably most of the time we just take our variety of skills for granted. And now with youtube, anything you might want to learn can be demonstrated instantly. It’s a global community to learn from, accessible to anyone with internet access. And why it’s so important to make that access available to everyone.
For example, I was delighted to see that out in the garden my very first grafts of a braeburn apple branch onto a crabapple tree are beginning to grow! A year ago I had no idea about grafting. I first saw it on youtube. 🙂
I might add a number of skills to Heinlein’s list, but he’s pretty much got it covered.