RE: Have We Entered a Post-Literate Technological Age?

["Combs, Richard" <richard -dot- combs -at- Polycom -dot- com>]

voxwoman wrote: 
 
> It must be the engineer in me, but I have a desire to know how
*everything*
> works, even if I can't (or don't want to) fix it myself.
> 
<snip>
> 
> This quote from Bob Heinlein also affected me quite strongly at a
young
> age:
> 
> "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."

Love that Heinlein quote -- had it on my cube wall for years. 

Here are a couple of Samuel Johnson quotes that relate to this topic: 

"There is nothing so minute or inconsiderable that I would not rather
know it than not know it."

"No knowledge is useless, with the exception of heraldry." 

:-)

Richard


Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
------
rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
------






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