I’d mentioned to Ellison a few days earlier a theory I had that people who had very intense work lives often found relaxing difficult and that the best they could do was to find some alternative stress that so fully engaged their attention that it drove everything else out of their mind. Ellison said, “That’s certainly true for me. I’d never heard the expression ‘alternative stress’ until you said it, but it immediately struck me as a perfect explanation for all my hobbies. Sailing and flying are definitely alternative stress activities.
