In reply to Derek Ryden:
Prententious? no more than 50% of other UKC articles. Most pretend more than we like to admit. I did not find this article excessively so.
As to breaking rules I did not expect a Design Manual even though the intro does use the phrase "explore the design process". "Design process"is somewhat misleading but not, I suggest, to a general reader.
The comments on curves and energy do suggest a misunderstanding of mechanics, statics and dynamics but this article is not an educational textbook.
I found the article interesting and a little bit thought provoking if not educational. But I assume it was not intended to be such.