Heinlein Meme

[laura_seabrook]

Did one of this before, but angharads_house's post has inspired me.

The following quote is by Robert Heinlein (if memory serves me, from Time Enough for Love). Indicate which of these you've done, and post in your own Journal:

"A human being should be able to...

• change a diaper,
         not yet
• plan an invasion, 
         done many times in my own war gaming days
• butcher a hog,  
         sorry, couldn't even put down one of my drakes
         when I knew it was dying
• conn a ship,
         naw, i'd be a better exec 
• design a building,  
         I used to design them in my school exercise books
         the last one I did was a Phrygianum, the next will 
         be an Emperor's Palace (using Sketchup)
• write a sonnet,  
         ah, poetry, I'll write one, but will you read it?
• balance accounts,  
         nope, hopeless on that one
• build a wall,  
         I have, at least two
• set a bone,  
         urg - goes over in corner to throw up
• comfort the dying,  
         have done, and still do
• take orders,  
         yeah, done that, even when I shouldn't
• give orders,  
         I'll have the number five meal deal, thanks!
• cooperate,  
         me, I'm, um always cooperative, aren't I?
• act alone,  
         too often
• solve equations,  
         used to do quadratics in high school without 
         knowing what me intermediate steps were 
         - it would just come to me
• analyse a new problem,  
         when I'm centred, yes
• pitch manure,  
         done that
• program a computer,  
         ditto
• cook a tasty meal,  
         used to, seem to have lost that skill
• fight efficiently,  
         not really - I'd make the effort but probably go 
         under quickly (shoot 'em in the kneecaps!)
• die gallantly.
         not today, thanks
  " 

Comments

[rashelleym.livejournal.com]

I think it was Farnham's Freehold.

It's odd; of course I learned them by heart in the Junior Space Cadets, like everyone else, but nobody ever knew quite why a human being should be able to do all those things.

Perhaps I was missing something. Well, I know I must have been missing something, in retrospect. I simply could not understand why it was so important to travel to Mars rather than simply roll up our sleeves and begin terraforming Venus--today! Right now! ("Oh, it's too hard, it's too hard! I lost my mirror! Somebody took the thorium! My spacesuit itches! I'm afraid of Aluminum Hell Nazis! I have a hangover!" Wusses.)