first principles

Every Sunday, on a grassy field somewhere in Tuas, there's a group of SIA pilots both retired and current who get together to fly radio-controlled model airplanes they've built themselves. Some of these model planes have wingspans of up to 6 feet -- they're not just kids' toys.

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i love this picture somehow, and i can see it in my mind's eye: the open green field, the men in t-shirts and bermudas with remote controls in their hands, looking up into a sky criss-crossed by flying machines they've meticulously put together, piece by piece, in the quiet of their workshops, studies, or studios. For these men, flying these miniatures must be such a wonderfully freeing simulation of what they do for a living -- freeing because they are not accountable for the lives of hundreds when they're playing this game. It's probably the closest they can get to enjoying the love of flight without the worries it brings when done professionally. It's about getting back to first principles.
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Everyone should have a green field somewhere, a place whether literal or metaphorical where they can return to the fundamentals, see things as simply as possible, without all the accretion of stuff that tends to get in the way of clarity and insight. A green field, with wide blue skies and perhaps a tree or two to provide some shelter from the sun.

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