Adjusting Goals
For many of us, myself included, the spring can be a time to adjust some goals that have gotten a little off the mark. Often, I hear people compare goal setting, and the steps necessary for meeting those goals, to the adjustment of angles in spaceflight (I hang out with very geeky people). In particular the science of fluid dynamics had already predicted how a space-craft traveling at a certain velocity would interact with the upper reaches of the Earth's atmosphere. It showed that there was a relatively small range of angles at which the spacecraft could safely re-enter the atmosphere. Too steep and the craft would burn up. Too shallow and the craft would, as you say, "bounce" off just as a skimming stone at the right angle can bounce off water. In between and, as Goldilocks would say, it is "just right" although you still need heat shields to deal with the heat generated (mostly from compressing the gas ahead of the spacecraft).** This is a great visual ima...