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What a (Hu)man Should Know

Patrick James
By Patrick JamesOct 11, 2008
Patrick James
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This Popular Mechanics list of 100 things men should know has been floating around the blogosphere lately. It's great, but we have to admit that anyone who knows how to do all of those things is pretty exceptional (that, or we're just really unexceptional). We're a little more partial to Robert Heinlein's take on the subject. The gist is the same, but the list is shorter. And he enumerates it with a lot more style and grace. Here it is, lifted from Heinlein's 1973 novel, Time Enough for Love:"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."

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