Beautiful Article. Could be demoralizing if viewed with pessimistic angle. I joined a builder during 6 month break from PhD. Now I can do all house renovation work. I found physical work more satisfying and is easy to apply all learning phases/cycles without being dependent on outside world... as in corporate sectors etc where you live in a sort of virtual environment (due to matters beyond your control). Despite coming from an engineering background I still feel academia is doing very little to break the gap between theory & practice especially in UK. Learning a side skill is so interesting if you have time & money.