In Buckminster Fuller's
Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, he talks about how there used to be Great Pirates who specialized in everything. In other words, they were masters of every field of their time. These Great Pirates began on land, but realized that they could make a greater profit at sea (where only the smartest and bravest had dared to venture(thus, only the Great Pirates)), so they hired the burliest dumby-heads they could find (who would be completely loyal). Because they're loyal, they're not inclined to question orders or mutiny. They'll also do things like beat and kidnap local bar-goers for new shipmates and fight for your life while you run away. In any case, these Great Pirates were more knowledgable than their peers, and they capitalized on their advantage.
As the global population rose, there was more opportunity for profit on land, so some of the Great Pirates stayed there. These Great Pirates, at sea, had to be masters of many things: astronomy, mathematics, carpentry, logic, and wit, to name a few. On land, the number of mastered topics remained roughly the same while the topics started to vary into other, less vital skills. These Great Pirates of the land tended to be masters of the arts, or inventors, or anatomicists, or physicists. These included people like Michaelangelo, da Vinci, and Benjamin Franklin. They knew a lot of subjects and they knew a lot about them.
Then came WWI. With the advent of the first world war, warfare changed from the tangible swords and spears to the 'visible only after it kills you' to the electronic or chemical warfare, that may never be physically seen. This led to specialization. People were needed to be experts of various fields in order for their country to have an edge over the opposition. With so many fractal-esque branchings of knowledge, it became nearly impossible for someone to invent anything revolutionary while painting for the Vatican and sculpting the iconic figures of our time.
One might argue, "Our times have changed, everything's digital now". If that's so, that only proves Buckminster's point; there is even specialization of the specialized--ergo,
computer specialists to the computer. Only someone who knows how to use Photoshop can make a decent image of our idols, only someone who knows how to use three-dimensional imaging software can render a digital sculpture of them, and only someone who knows the language of programming can write the scripts that run Photoshop and that 3D imaging software. You might know someone (or be someone) who has dedicated countless hours to the perfection of such tasks. That's great, but that doesn't make him or her or you a Great Pirate. Tell them to write a book; a book on something other than computer software or programming. Luckily, they wouldn't need to be a statistician to tell you that the chances of that book reaching the NY Times Best-Seller List are slim to none. Even if it
is a Pulitzer-worthy tome, however, they would doubtfully be able to build a ship strong enough to sail the seven seas.
But, after all that, I realize that I've always wanted to be that person who
can specialize in everything and know all the ins and outs of each aspect of our world. Which, logically, brings me to the conclusion that I've always wanted to be a pirate, I just didn't know it.
