Why technical details are important.

Pilots tend to be techies, folks who are interested in the details of the design and function of their craft. We are required by regulation to be familiar with the operating characteristics of the ships we fly. So both by inclination and mandate, pilots study texts and manuals in order to operate and maintain their craft as well as possible.

How many pilots have similar interest in how their bodies function? The airplane is the only bird with a removable brain; that brain is encased in a biomechanical operating system which is more resilient but more complex and more susceptible to system malfunction than is the mechanical craft it operates.

In order to fly as safely as possible, we need to be as interested in the proper operation of our bodies as we are in the operation and maintenance of our ships.