Sphericity — That Is, Being Well-Rounded

My friend and brother sent me a link to an essay entitled “On Stupidity” — it included this bit that reminded me of RAH:

Different generations have different ways of knowing — different configurations of multiple intelligences. Pick your era and your subject: How many of us know anything about farming anymore or how to read the changing of the seasons? How many of us know how to repair an automobile or make a cake from scratch?

(Link: Chronicle of Higher Education.)

For those who don’t recognize the initials, RAH would be Robert A. Heinlein, one of the Grand Masters of Science Fiction. The English professor’s quote above made me think of one of my favorite RAH quotes from “The Notebooks of Lazarus Long”:*

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.

I’ve always liked that sentiment, and thought at one point about planning a course of study around it. I called it “Sphericity,” as in the title of this post, by which I meant being well-rounded. Some people seem to get there naturally because they take (or make) the opportunities to explore a broad range of interests; other folks may need a little help.

How well-rounded are you? And would you add anything to Heinlein’s list?

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*The “Notebooks” formed part of his novel TIME ENOUGH FOR LOVE, but many of the aphorisms stand well on their own.

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