"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."

To anyone who hasn't previously encountered this beautiful quotation, its originator is Robert Heinlein.

Working my way down that list!

I suggest reordering some of the items.

This, so much. Saying this in earnest, I've stopped tying my identity with my work and it feels liberating. I'm not bothered by people who think I "can do so much more". May be but I'm happier.

I have thought about this a lot while cooking, and I also think it comes down to the fact that cooking is both very creative but also very destructive (fire, oil, cutting, smashing, boiling, melting! such fun).

It satisfies those two core urges we all have to some degree.

True that, some might argue it is a primal urge.

> There is something about cooking, doing things with your hands that is fundamental to the human experience.

I agree that doing more has plenty of avantage, but is there something specifically about cooking?

Have you ever sew piece of clothes that you regularly wear? Most people never did... yet for something that will be used for hundreds of hours, we pay 20$+ for it instead of taking a few hours to do it. Why are we arguing about cooking ourself but not sewing our own clothes?

Cooking our own food is simply a tradition that stayed with us, nothing else. It doesn't make more sense to do it ourself, than making our own clothes.

> is there something specifically about cooking?

I mean sustenance and cooking is one of the fundamental activities required to continue living. Defintely ranks higher than any other skill i.e. sewing etc. Although, still quite important to do that as well.

It's more than that.

You can live without clothes (at least in certain climates) - you can't live without eating.

It's not just tradition, it's more core to our survival.

Yes it does matter, because food is something that I put in my body, it has a direct correlation with my health. Clothes, not that much.