And this one https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonus_Army

This one blew my mind when I first heard of it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisbee_Deportation

Of course, in your particular case, the Jesus atoms may outnumber the other two. So you’re probably good.

That’s not the way to look at it. The airline has a total cost hurdle for the flight to make sense. If they don’t cover that the flight doesn’t happen. So in a very real sense, your seatmate paying half what you are could be the difference between the flight going or not. As long as they are covering the direct costs of their flight (fuel, etc.) they are helping the flight take place at all. Since the assumption is the business travelers ‘really, really want that flight’ everyone benefits here.

Another perspective on the underlying issue—do you suppose that MDs will be more easily replaceable with AI than nurses will be?

For something similar but seemingly nutty, try the podcast ‘Northwoods Baseball’. It consists entirely of ‘broadcasts’ of baseball games in a fake baseball league. Sounds crazy, but works for me! Each ‘game’ lasts about 2.5 hours.

I live outside Boston and frequently see a Newark-Singapore A350 fly over. A mind boggling distance…

Reminds me of one of my favorite Far Side cartoons https://www.reddit.com/r/TheFarSide/s/g5y9E0ZlmI

Maybe so, but the 6-axis machine appears to be sitting in the front window of a store on Newbury St. (which is Boston’s high-dollar shopping area).

An extra safety margin is conferred by the stepladders found in the tailcones :-)