FIRST PRINCIPLES (THIRD ATTEMPT)

The mission patch began as a margin doodle in an editorial meeting and refused to leave. Three years later, after eleven embroidery samples and one minor argument about thread weight, here it is — wrapping the words I BUILT THIS AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS ROCKET BADGE around a tiny rocket, like the kind of merit badge they should hand out at every press conference.

The take that goes with it is in the column. Read it before you put it on a jacket.