NavList:

I'll throw my 2 cents in after doing this stuff at sea for 16 years.

Celnav is made up of 3 components: 1) Mathmatics 2) skills 3) art.

1) Math: We can generally agree that the math is pretty straight forward, be it done with formulae, computers, tables, or slide rules. This is where we transform the raw data we collect into the derived data that we can use to get our ends.

2) Skills: this is the rubber meets the road stuff. The navigator needs to accurately and consistently gather the raw data from instruments and then use the computed data to obtain the end result. Operating the sextant, reading the arc/micrometer drum/vernier, plotting the LOP's properly etc. These things are taught or learned via demonstration or research.

3) the art of celnav has to do with feeling and making the correct decision based on fuzzy data or things not derived from instruments. Scientists try to quantify it with areas of uncertainty or deviation elipses or what have you, and don't like it when people "Go with their gut" without good foundation. The art of navigation has to do with people feeling how a ship is moving to "know" that she is getting set one direction or another. I don't need a strain gauge to tell me that the ship is stressed, I feel it in my feet. I know when a star sight is excellent or wrong/off when I shoot it. I don't need to go and reduce it to discover it. I get a feeling when I have a good round. I know before I even start to put pencil to paper. This isn't something I was taught, or learned from a book (not a skill). It comes from experience and probably a bit of talent. It also evokes emotion within me in a way that the practice of a skill doesn't do. It is the same with photography for me, and I am sure the same for a sculpture or painter.

To answer Franks point in an earlier post about buildings. A CAD drawing of a building won't evoke any real emotion in people the way that a painting will. The same with digitally produced music verses a virtuoso on an instrument.

I know that some will not accept this, and that's fine. I just wanted to put out how the art fits into my Celnav.

Jeremy
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