BDS writes:

I doubt that sitting in front of your computer playing MSFS gives you the
same feeling that I get when I take a late evening flight after work. I
cruise along in the glassy-smooth air with the sun on the horizon and all my
problems left far below and gone from my concsiousness.

You might be surprised.

I do not need to
actually go anywhere, the experience itself is enough - it is a freedom and
an internal peace that I cannot describe and that I cannot get from any
other activity.

There are often many roads leading to the same destination. Try to
accept the possibility that your way may not be the only way.

I doubt that playing MSFS gives you the same feeling that I get when I am
soaring my hang glider and a hawk joins me in the thermal off of my wingtip,
completely unafraid of the large "bird" he is sharing the thermal with, and
we rise to 6,000 feet together.

Maybe. I doubt that the feeling you get is one that I'd want to
experience. But perhaps we're both wrong.

I doubt that MSFS gives you the same feeling that I get when I am in a
sailplane scratching for lift so I can make it back to the airport, or
looking down from 10,000 feet having gotten there using nothing more than
thermals.

I'm not into gliding, even in simulation. I've tried it, and it bored
me.

I doubt that MSFS gives you the same feeling that I get when I see the
runway appear out of the mist at DH on an ILS ...

Actually, I suspect it may. The source of satisfaction in that case
may come from factors that have nothing to do with the reality or
irreality of the act. After all, some people are greatly pleased when
they win a chess game, even though it isn't anything more than an
extremely symbolic "battle."

There is mystical significance in the actual experience that you will never
understand because your mind is closed and you think you already know
everything there is to know. I feel sorry for you.

I have to smile reading this. Whose mind is really closed? When have
I ever asserted that there are things you can never experience without
using a simulator? Ponder on this: Not everyone is like you.

--
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