Most people learn about the fate of Icarus at a young age. It serves as a powerfully graphic warning of the perils of excessive self-confidence, how one should avoid extreme risks because of their potentially grave conscequences. The crux of the story has even passed into our lexicon as a euphemism for over-reaching ambition or greed. I’ve often heard it said, in a slightly smug way, that someone has “flown too close to the sun” …