ABSTRACT
F antasies of ight are a universal human longing across time and space (Ogilvie, 2004). From the rst gods to the latest comic book superhero (e.g., the Flying Friar, which debuted in Britain and the United States in 2006), humans, young and old, around the world have yearned and still yearn to transcend their earthly connes-be it by levitating a few inches above ground, soaring like a bird, hurtling across the sky with planelike alacrity or more (Superman was after all “faster than a speeding bullet”), or beaming across galaxies in the blink of an eye. Why are such aerial forays so ubiquitous and psychologically uplifting? Do humans everywhere share a universal predilection for gravity-defying aerial transportation simply to avoid trafc and tolls? Or is there something more psychologically signicant that underlies the lofty aspirations of the human animal?
