@FreeMan Your comment was gone before I saw it. I'm just curious, what did you propose that got that reaction?

Can anybody explain something my daughter asked me about? This summer I was in Chicago and visited the Sears tower. I was absolutely terrified to go out on the glass enclosure that extends out of the building. When I was in the WTC I barely got up the nerve to walk up to the windows and look down for 5 seconds.

I even felt a little funny looking out my daughter's dorm room window on the 8th floor. How can I be so horrified by looking down from a perfectly solid building at 1400 feet, yet have absolutely no problem being in a C172 at 2000ft being held up only by air pressure? Or even in an airliner at 35,000 ft.

@TomMcW they are different fears indeed en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrophobia

@TomMcW I'd be scared looking down from a balloon, but not sitting on board a plane.

@TomMcW I believe acrophobia affects many dogs as well, unlike cats, I can tell from the way my dog behaves near a handrail, despite being bigger than the biggest gap in that handrail.

@ymb1 They are obviously quite separate fears. I'm not one bit afraid of flying. But looking out the window of a plane involves a height. Sitting does help. At the Sears tower the only way I could go out on the glass thing was to sit down and scoot out onto it. But I was still very queasy.

@TomMcW it's a rather interesting question really

fear of flying as a passenger, fear of heights, and this acrophobia

@TomMcW if I hold a coffee mug or a phone beyond a balcony railing, I personally fear for it slipping, despite being the same grip (fourth phobia?). I have no issues with balconies, or with skyscraper observation decks, but I haven't tried that glass floor thing, and I'm not looking forward to it either :D

@ymb1 Holding something in my hand makes it worse. If I came close to the window I had to hand the camera to someone or set it on the floor.

@TomMcW and then you have this guy.

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@TomMcW do you think flying an open cockpit plane differs from an enclosed C172?

@ymb1 I don't know. Never been in an open cockpit. The fear even occurs when I'm not the one up high. I couldn't watch that tightrope guy. One time my friends and I were at the liberty memorial [No voretaq7, I'm not gay] and they were sitting on the wall (about 100 foot drop) with their feet dangling over. I was panicking. When one of them noticed how scared I was the asshole started doing cartwheels on the wall.

@TomMcW (a) everyone is gay. (b) For most people it's a fear of falling, not a fear of heights.

How does this nasa.gov/press-release/… differ from CPDLC?

@ymb1 Did some web reading. I think one guy on Quora is on the right track. It's a fear that I'm either going to lose my balance or even spontaneously jumping. It's irrational, but I do think that's what it is. That's why sitting helps

@TomMcW makes sense, what about the coffee mug? I mean it's a mug, so what, it's not like it's gonna pull me with it. It does feel like it's a balance thing as well

@ymb1 I think with that it might be, at least for me, that I'm afraid I'd drop it then reflexively try to catch it

@TomMcW for the camera, is it the same with a neck strap?

@ymb1 Not sure. Speaking of jumping, it is my opinion that very few of the 9/11 "jumpers" actually jumped. Bugs me when they say that. I think most of them fell. Having once been in the building I believe it to be a quirk of the architecture.

@TomMcW architectural quirk how?

@ymb1 How do you embed an image in chat?

@TomMcW press upload next to send

@TomMcW I see what you mean now

@TomMcW I've once been a room that makes you feel the room is tilted, despite not being so

I'm trying to find an image for it

@TomMcW was a conference room lol

@TomMcW Those two elevated triangular rooms, can only find outside photos.

If you look at that picture, the windows are about 18" wide, floor too ceiling. On each side the column stick out from the building several inches. To get breathable air they had to break the window, stand at the very edge, hold onto the columns and lean out at least a foot or more. Now consider that a) they are already suffering smoke inhalation, b) the columns would get very hot, and c) there may be other people behind them also desperate for air

@TomMcW yes, plus a probably uneven floor, very tragic

@ymb1 Yikes, yeah, those are kinda freaky

@TomMcW from inside one of those rooms, I felt the room was either moving or tilted

@voretaq7 I've got no fear of falling, just a fear of hitting the ground at the end

@TomMcW "Speed doesn't kill you - it's the sudden deceleration at the end of the trip that kills you."

@voretaq7 I've tried to explain that to the cop at my window but never works!

@TomMcW The cop is just concerned you'll use his vehicle for the sudden deceleration.

@voretaq7 I'm concerned if I get a sport license with a speed restriction I'll be flying and there'll be a black and white plane behind me with red lights on top. "November 123, alfa bravo. Pull over buddy!"

@TomMcW Speed Checked By RADAR.

@TomMcW @voretaq7 just squawk a different code and blame the other guy :D

@TomMcW and then this to discuss the speed limit?

@ymb1 "If you're crazy enough to fly it you can go as fast as you want!"

@ymb1 I particularly like his choice of the exercise ball for a seat

@TomMcW cheapest off-the-shelf suspension :D

@ymb1 I'll bet he bounces every landing :)

@TomMcW only way this contraption can get airborne