Six Degrees of Freedom

Book excerpt: Octogenarian aerospace engineer Peter Hughes identified 6 critical points in his life at which an important decision was required, and where the rest of his life could have been quite different, depending on that decision. In every case, he was completely free to make the decision. In Six Degrees of Freedom, Hughes reflects on a full lifetime, including several work environments, his contributions to the aerospace industry (including work on the Canadarm), a passion for applied mathematics, family life, business and entrepreneurship, travel experience, and medical science. In so doing, and through his wry humor, he provides the reader thoughtful insight and useful life and career lessons.