Kraft became what Kranz and some of the others called “The Teacher,” developing precepts that became the catechism for later generations of flight controllers. The first of Kraft’s precepts was simplicity itself: “If you don’t know what to do, don’t do anything.” But it was simple as a koan is simple, for flight controllers were trained and conditioned to solve problems; the temptation was for a controller to think that he knew what to do when he really didn’t. True wisdom in flight control lay in being able to recognize one’s own ignorance. Much of the training of the flight controllers
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