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Airline pilot, broadcaster, sailor, speaker, and author, Captain Russ Roberts doesn't consider himself an adventurer but a lifetime collector of experiences and stories.
Roberts flew the Atlantic alone in single-engine airplanes, sailed the Northwest Passage over the Canadian Arctic in a small sailboat, and helped blow up his backyard with dynamite at age seven.
At seventeen, he was the youngest licensed flight instructor in America. Later, he commanded airliners around the world.
And he can answer, first hand, how many people and moose can fit in a Volkswagen.
Upon retiring, Roberts turned to writing. His first memoir is Unlearning to Fly: Navigating the Turbulence and Bliss of Growing Up in the Sky. Russ Roberts tells a heartwarming and sometimes heartbreaking story of how airplanes were the golden thread securing an otherwise turbulent start to life.
He grew up with an alcoholic and semi-cultish religious father. He says, “This experience helped open my ‘doors of perception.’”
Today, he continues to sculpt a personal philosophy that helps smooth the way. “Ideas are the real adventures,” he says.
He isn’t afraid to let his imagination lead to exploratory thought, but he doesn’t pursue conspiracy theories or fantastic ideas without sound foundations. Roberts believes that ultimate reality exists. He thinks, however, that everyone carries a unique picture of it based on their knowledge, background, and experience.
(A copy of Roberts' book or ebook is available to podcasters upon request.)
The overarching theme of his book is how a personal philosophy of overcoming past training and parental influence can help craft an authentic life.
How each person carries a unique picture of reality. Each of our pictures is different.
The adventure of single-engine aircraft trans-ocean flying in reality and as metaphor.
What it's really like in an airliner cockpit.
The challenges and traps of growing up in an alcoholic and quasi-cultish religious family.
1. Throughout your book, you discuss the concept of unlearning. Can you elaborate on why unlearning is necessary? Does that apply to modern society?
2. In "Unlearning to Fly," you explore the tensions between tradition and progress. How do you think individuals and societies can navigate these tensions effectively?
3. How do you envision the role of education in fostering unlearning and adaptability in individuals?
4. You discuss the importance of humility and curiosity in the process of unlearning. Can you share some practical strategies for cultivating these qualities?
5. "Unlearning to Fly" explores the idea of embracing uncertainty and embracing the unknown. How can individuals and organizations develop comfort with uncertainty in a rapidly changing world?
6. Your book emphasizes the importance of narrative in shaping our understanding of the world. How can individuals become more aware of the narratives influencing their beliefs and behaviors?
7. The story shifts between intense action and nostalgic reminiscence. How did you approach balancing these two contrasting elements?
8. The writing style shifts between life-threatening situations and childhood innocence. What challenges did you face in maintaining this tonal balance?
9. Chapter 1 of your book ends with you awake at midnight as a four-year-old boy. You contemplate that unique experience. What significance does this moment hold in the larger narrative arc of the story?
10. Personal philosophy queries: How are conflicts with humans like dealing with weather? What is the nature of love? How did flying shape your feelings about borders between countries?
Radio announcer from 1972 to 1990.
Sharing the podcast information on my book's Facebook page and on my blog.