Mysterious Aerodynamic Lift
"No One Can Explain Why Planes Stay in the Air":
[T]here is actually no agreement on what generates the aerodynamic force
known as lift. “There is no simple one-liner answer to this,” [aerodynamics expert John D. Anderson] told
the Times. People give different answers to the question, some
with “religious fervor.” More than 15 years after that pronouncement,
there are still different accounts of what generates lift, each with its
own substantial rank of zealous defenders. At this point in the history
of flight, this situation is slightly puzzling.
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lots of diagrams and theories!