There is an obscure German poem by Bertolt Brecht, called Fragen eines lesenden Arbeiters:1
It starts:
Wer baute das siebentorige Theben? In den Büchern stehen die Namen von Königen. Haben die Könige die Felsbrocken herbeigeschlappt?
Or, in English:
Who built the seven towers of Thebes? The names of kings are mentioned in the books. Did those kings drag those boulders?
Later, it includes this line:
Cäsar schlug die Gallier. Hatte er nicht wenigstens einen Koch bei sich?
Translation:
Caesar defeated the Gauls. Was there at least a cook with him?
I was originally introduced to this poem by my high school German teacher. Not, as you might expect, back when I was studying German, but many years later when I returned to school to speak to a group of senior students.
She said to me: “I know you have worked for some well known companies. But what did you actually do?”
I didn’t have a succinct answer. I started talking about the different roles I’d had: software engineer, product manager, investor, adviser, yada yada. She stopped me and said: “Oh, you cooked the meals”.
She was right.