Re: [OT] “Raise the nose, HAL.” “I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

[Walter Bright]

Since I griped about the qualifications of the author, I suppose I should say 
what mine are:

1. My degree is in Mechanical Engineering, with a minor in Aero and Astronautics.

2. I'm not a pilot. I've "flown" flight simulators. That doesn't mean squat.

3. I spent 3 years working on the 757 stabilizer trim system design. I also did 
verification work on the stability of the elevator system. I had many long and 
enjoyable conversations with the "old salts" there who were passing on their 
institutional knowledge to me. It was probably the best part of my experience there.

4. I've been writing software professionally for 40 years. None of it was flight 
control software.

5. My father was a career military pilot. I grew up hearing all about flying all 
the time. I'm interested in it, and have read extensively on aviation, mostly 
about design. None of this is quantifiable.

Many facets of this have crept into D's design :-) You'd think there'd be 
nothing in common, but that is incorrect. The software industry and best 
practices could learn a lot from aviation experience.