Monday, September 11, 2006
Jack of all trades
Hello to all,
Is variety the spice of life ?
Jack of all trades, master of none is one quotation which is very well known. And to be labelled as such is not to anybody's liking. Adults love to label children as such. I have a nephew who delves around in many kinds of sport. He is quite good in the various games he plays. In golf he drives the ball as far as professionals; how many of them can drive a ball a 270+ metres distance ? He can play this game well, but he prefers to play around in other sports with his friends. And aptly, he is one Jack of all trades, master of none, so people would say .
But, is this derogatory, as people usually dislike ? Certainly not ! If people know the correct or complete quotation, most of them would want to be a Jack of all trades. This proverb in its entirety is Jack of all trades, master of none, though ofttimes better than master of one. This saying is a figure of speech, describing a polymath, a person who is competent with many skills but is not very good with one particular skill.
One day I met a thirty something year old golfer. He told me that he had lost the zeal for golf years ago. Then the game was very easy for him; he would hit the ball and it would go as he played it, no fun, he said. He had come back to play for the exercise and the friendship. He wanted to have a more varied life. He said, "I would rather be a Jack of all trades than a master of one at any time. All I need to be is to be above average. I will get along fine in life. I can always engage the specialist where specialised work is required."
Have a nice day
Ronald
Is variety the spice of life ?
Jack of all trades, master of none is one quotation which is very well known. And to be labelled as such is not to anybody's liking. Adults love to label children as such. I have a nephew who delves around in many kinds of sport. He is quite good in the various games he plays. In golf he drives the ball as far as professionals; how many of them can drive a ball a 270+ metres distance ? He can play this game well, but he prefers to play around in other sports with his friends. And aptly, he is one Jack of all trades, master of none, so people would say .
But, is this derogatory, as people usually dislike ? Certainly not ! If people know the correct or complete quotation, most of them would want to be a Jack of all trades. This proverb in its entirety is Jack of all trades, master of none, though ofttimes better than master of one. This saying is a figure of speech, describing a polymath, a person who is competent with many skills but is not very good with one particular skill.
One day I met a thirty something year old golfer. He told me that he had lost the zeal for golf years ago. Then the game was very easy for him; he would hit the ball and it would go as he played it, no fun, he said. He had come back to play for the exercise and the friendship. He wanted to have a more varied life. He said, "I would rather be a Jack of all trades than a master of one at any time. All I need to be is to be above average. I will get along fine in life. I can always engage the specialist where specialised work is required."
Have a nice day
Ronald
# posted by chunmu @ 6:14 PM 
