Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Jason of all trades
| 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 A. Heinlein I first ran into that quote by Heinlein when i was in 11th grade. It was one of many quotes in the application and information packet sent to me by Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. Their material was completely unlike anyone elses. It was fun. It was laid out like a Rube Goldberg contraption which kept you moving forward and flipping pages. Rose Hulman was (at the time) one of the top engineering schools in the country. I wanted to go despite the fact that it was, at the time, an all male school. It apparently finally went co-ed about 10 years ago. I applied to Rose Hulman and was rejected outright. This was, at the time, a big shock. In 11th and 12th grade I had a bit of an ego about my math and science skills and figured that would open the door to any school I wanted. What shocked me about my rejection letter was that they didn't just reject me, they told me what classes I should take an "another school" before I tried to apply to transfer to Rose Hulman. The suggested classes? Humanities, English, Art classes. I was so utterly confused that a hard core engineering school was telling me, an outright math geek, to beef up on the "soft" subjects. But the Heinlein quote came back to me very clearly. I was not at all well rounded, and I needed to change that. I actually printed up the list of qualities from Heinlein and carried that in my wallet for years. I would pull it out on occasion, and check off the items I had accomplished. Some sort of "human checklist." Several years later while showing the list to someone they pointed out that I would never be able to complete the list. They pointed out that, if I did in fact complete the last item ("die gallantly") I would be unable to check it off. It was at that point I threw my worn and tattered list in the trash. Looking back on the list, though, I have actually accomplished quite a few items on the list. Late in my senior year of high school a similar incident happened. In an argument with a classmate they pointed out that, while I was gifted in math, I really hadn't accomplished much in other areas. I can still remember the words he used: that I was "so one dimensional that I'd never amount to anything." That hurt. It hurt a lot. It still hurts. Not that it was true, but that someone would think or say that. Have you ever noticed that it is so hard to believe the good things people say about you, yet so easy to believe the bad? My life has pretty much been a quest to add dimensions. People are constantly trying to compare me to my brother, as if there is come kind of competition. I suppose that is because that's what brothers do. For my brother and I it's apples and oranges. I can't do what he does and he can't do what I do. I won't speak for him, but for me, I have no interest in being able to do what he does. It's fascinating sometimes, but I prefer to be a spectator not a participant. The only person I am in any sort of competition with is myself. I seek to always be 10% better than I am. That's not so lofty a goal as to be unreachable, but it is enough to keep constant pressure to seek self improvement, to add dimensions, to get better. To amount to something. That drive also leads to things like this (page 38 or 39). It's not a sonnet, but I give myself a Heinlein check mark, anyway. I have done color commentary on the radio for professional hockey games. I am in the Krystal Lover's Hall of Fame. I don't see those on Heinlein's list, but since he lived in California, I doubt he'd ever had a taste of a delicious Krystal. The reason all this came up was that Monday was my first day back in the office with coworkers I haven't seen since graduation, 10 days ago. Of course the discussion of summer plans came up. Like I posted here this past weekend, I have lots of things planned. I checked in at Just Because Chocolate today. The store has changed ownership since I applied to work there, and they currently don't need any help. They'll keep my application handy and said they'll absolutely need me around Christmas. So now I am again looking for summer work, maybe. As I was describing my plan to take surfing lessons that was greeted with laughs and smiles. When I described working at the chocolate place that was greeted with nods. When I mentioned taking the Culinary course next fall, I think that finally just pushed them over the edge. They simply couldn't understand. They saw it as wasted time and effort on my part. Is it unnatural for people to want to try a little bit of everything? More often than not I find people who have build themselves a cozy little cocoon to live in and are terrified to get out of it. How do they not suffocate in there? If the summer job doesn't pan out, I have a bit of a back up plan. My college is hosting the first annual Cape Fear Critical Thinking Symposium in November. I think I am going to sign up to present at the symposium. Bringing together "unique" ideas and experiences from the various types of classes and students I have dealt with over the years to give ideas on how to better prepare our students for the transition into life after Cape Fear, whether it be on to a 4 year college or out into "the real world." Perhaps I just need to give them a Heinlein Checklist at the beginning of the class? PS at the time you are reading this I should be on the highway headed south. There should be automatic posts for the next few afternoons. If there happens to be a glitch I'll straighten it out when I return on Monday. I doubt I'll do much email or web browsing down in Florida. I need to spend some time adding dimensions.  |
