Open systems [Reflections]

Occasionally, I indulge in a bit of nostalgia over those long-ago days of Heathkit. Of course, building a Heathkit was the electronics equivalent of painting a Rembrandt by the numbers, but I remember how proud I was when a project was done. It was a great starting point for growing up to be an engineer. There's something else to cherish about those Heathkits, though: their openness. Whatever might go wrong with the Heathkit, I could fix it. I had access to all the parts and complete schematics and circuit descriptions. It was truly mine.