Just finished Tom Wolfe’s “The Right Stuff”, about the early days of flight test pilots and the beginning of NASA’s space program.  Really interesting treatise on the fraternity of pilots, or more-so, the extreme levels of competition between them–all seeking to reside at the top of the pyramid, to receive universal acknowledge of their stuff (right), and to pathologically avoid being left behind by their peers.  I had a few major take-aways.  First, people can achieve great things when their actions are motivated by passion and not renumeration.  It was surprising to hear how lean were the living standards of our early pilots, and how little they cared.  Second, missions in life need to be specific, ambitious, and time-framed.  See: Kennedy’s challenge to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade, and return him safely to earth.  I wonder how much more I would accomplish if I applied these traits to the constant flow of ethereal, formless dreams meandering through my thoughts.  Finally, on the books title, I wondered what the corollary to the pilot’s “right stuff” would be in the design world.  For aviators, it’s a constant cool under intense pressure, improvisation in novel scenarios, the ability to push the edge of technology’s capability, and the aura of control where it may not exist.  Yup, that about does it.