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, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.
— Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
So says Lazarus Long.
The Competent Man
The Competent Man or Peak Human archetype; is a kind of polymath, they are a person with many abilities, able to function in many societies or in many roles or professions.
Heinlein
Heinlein heavily employs the competent man archetype in his sci-fi novels, Lazarus Long above being a prime example. A personal favourite, though, is Jubal Harshaw. He features in several novels but most notably in Stranger in a Strange Land (one of Heinlein’s best) he is described as: “Jubal E. Harshaw, LL.B., M.D., Sc.D., bon vivant, gourmet, sybarite, popular author extraordinary, neo-pessimist philosopher, devout agnostic, professional clown, amateur subversive, and parasite by choice.”. He provides legal advice, medical treatment and education to the principal character as well as acting as a surrogate father figure and friend.
Harshaw is the perfect example of this archetype as he blends hard skills and soft skills to create a well rounded, fully formed character. Not only is he a lawyer and a doctor but he is also a philosopher and a moral compass for the reader as well as many key protagonists, providing explanation and analysis of the key problems.
Kipling
Heinlein is not the only author to have employed this archetype of course but his use is the most overt and widespread. Rudyard Kipling’s short story The Army of a Dream is thought to have inspired Heinlein’s use of this archetype. In it no one who has not served in the army is allowed to vote (very much like in Heinlein’s own Starship Troopers). The citizen soldiers are portrayed as highly trained, competent men capable of dealing with any threat to society.
Batman
These characters show a level of competency is close to superhuman, and this is utilised to level the field in superhero settings where non-super characters face super ones. Bruce Wayne might be thought to be an example of a competent man; he is able to fight to an incredible level, invent and build gadgets and reputably the world’s greatest detective.
Sherlock Holmes & Moriarty
Consider also, Sherlock Holmes and Moriarty: Both show too high a level of intelligence and skill to seem entirely plausible. Experts in martial arts, science, knowledgeable in literature and music and chess grandmasters.
One wonders whether the accusations strongly levelled against Heinlein and his characters are true, that these competent men are wishful projections of the authors themselves.
I love them all, I’m off to write one for myself.

Darren Ellis is a teacher, creative and owner of Rotten Poetry. He reads classic literature, fantasy, sci-fi, literary fiction and history.
-
Lazy£20.00
-
Specialization is for Insects£20.00