What should a young male of 21 know, and what should he be able to do? There are no conclusive answers to those questions, but they are certainly worth asking. A young man should know how this country is run and how it got that way. He should know the Federalist Papers and de Tocqueville, and he should know recent world history. If he does not know what has been tried in the past, he cannot very well avoid those pitfalls as they come up in the future.

A young man should be computer literate and, moreover, should know Hemingway from James Joyce. He should know how to drive a car well--such as is not covered in Driver's Ed. He should know how to fly a light airplane. He should know how to shoot well. He should know elementary geography, both worldwide and local. He should have a cursory knowledge of both zoology and botany. He should know the fundamentals of agriculture and corporate economy. He should be well qualified in armed combat, boxing, wrestling and judo, or its equivalent. He should know how to manage a motorcycle. He should be comfortable in at least one foreign language, more if appropriate to his background. He should be familiar with remedial medicine. These things should be accomplished before a son leaves his father's household.
Cooper, from guns and ammo.



"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."
Heinlein



Both lists are utter rot. A young man should know how to cook a shot of heroin, fist a man without wounding him unduly, read Latin, strip and reassemble a Ford Escort Mk I engine, calm a troubled wombat, cook al dente pasta to the satisfaction of an elderly Italian lady, recite the colourschemes used on each and every Prince album cover, rouse the proletariat to revolution, identify an Eames chair by year of production, speak fluent Welsh, humourously inflate a corpse using a foot-pump, rig an election, shuck an oyster and perform an impromptu promenade performance of the Scottish play single-handed. FACT.
posted by jack_mo at 6:58 PM PST on May 25

Posted on mefi.

Jack Mo is clearly a nevillest.


Here Neville Frolix in the Snow.