Competent Man

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competent_man

3 2 5 years ago

en.wikipedia.org

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, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.

— Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love

themodelplumber• 5 years ago

A try at a corollary for current times:

A human being should be able to decide to take a life-saving vaccine without needing input from literal government-overthrow types, evaluate their own government's ongoing invasions for credibility, make conscious diet choices, avoid road rage, design a life plan, write a journal entry for internal meditation/peace, manage and plan for long-term financial stability in the face of change, connect a device to the internet, evaluate another person's general physical and emotional state, know some first aid, comfort the dying, contextualize and integrate feedback, offer and design feedback, cooperate, act alone while understanding the risks of subjective mindsets, know where they can go to get help with math, list and organize the various aspects of a new problem, test a CO2 or smoke detector, sign up for texts from local authorities, evaluate a meal for balance, fight creatively, and make plans to die with supportive friends around.

(...though this "should" thing is a real pain in the neck. Do we say that means "in order to get my approval", which turns the entire thing into a fractal mansplain, or "ideally, in order to face today's pressures"? I like the latter better as it encourages a more open approach to the way we judge other humans and their capabilities, especially if we feel a need to map our own competencies onto everyone else...)

Competent Man

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