Here, we compared Poul Anderson's Nicholas van Rijn and SM Stirling's John Rolfe as different kinds of leaders. Now we find a third example. Lissa Davysdaughter Windholm thinks:
"'I'm only a planetarist. And even that title is a fake. I don't do geology, oceanography, atmospherics, chemistry, biology, ethology, or xenology. I dabble in them all, and then dare call myself a scientist." (p. 85)
So what is her contribution?
"I help get the specialists together, and keep them together, and sometimes keep them alive. That's my work. That justifies me being here..." (ibid.)
It does indeed. So that work must be generally acknowledged and respected? No:
"...though I had to force it every centimeter of the way." (ibid.)
Leadership indeed.
I googled "planetarist" but found a different meaning for it.
7 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Yes, I agree, a person who knows how to get people to work together, keep them alive, and even to be hard, when necessary, is a leader. Persons as varied as Nicholas van Rijn, John Rolfe VI, and Lissa Davysdaughter Windholm comes to mind, as you have said.
Btw, I've wondered if "Lissa" is how "Elizabeth" might have turned into over a thousand years.
Sean
Sean,
Prob. But there is also "Lisa." I do not know whether that is related to "Elizabeth" and have not googled.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Just off the top of my head I think "Lisa" is also derived from "Elizabeth."
Sean
- and "David" has been abbreviated to "Davy."
Paul and Sean:
One of my dictionaries (published in 1972) includes a list of given names with some information about their origins. It cites "Lisa" as a diminutive of "Elizabeth," confirming your suspicions.
"Lissa" COULD also be an abbreviation of "Melissa." I think I may have seen it used that way in some story that I can't pin down.
The bit about a person who can get the specialists to all work together reminds me of Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan, from Lois McMaster Bujold's *Vorkosigan* series. Cordelia had been a captain in the Betan Astronomical Survey, a group of experts who didn't have much respect for authority -- but that taught her how to put AUTHORITY into a quiet, nonviolent command.
"The Countess's gaze sharpened. In a voice Kareen had rarely heard her use before, she repeated, 'Sit. Down.' It wasn't even her Countess Vorkosigan voice; it was something older, firmer, even more appallingly confident. It was her old Ship Captain's voice, Kareen realized; and [Kareen's] parents had both lived under military authority for decades."
Kaor, Paul!
I noticed that! And, in the Technic Civilization stories, "Joseph" became "Josip." Emperor Josip III comes to mind.
Sean
Hi, David!
Dang! I missed the possible derivation of "Lissa" from "Melissa." Blast! (Smiles)
And, yes, I can see how real leaders can exercise command without needing to be brutal or threatening. Nice example of that principle from Countess Vorkosigan.
Sean
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