NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Celestial arts and crafts
From: Lu Abel
Date: 2013 Mar 26, 13:04 -0700
From: Lu Abel
Date: 2013 Mar 26, 13:04 -0700
Definition of the noun "art" from the Miriam-Webster dictionary:
1 : skill
acquired by experience, study, or observation <the art of making friends>
2a :
a branch of learning: (1) : one of the
humanities (2)
plural : liberal
arts
2b archaic : learning,
scholarship
3 : an
occupation requiring knowledge or skill <the
art of organ building>
4a :
the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially
in the production of aesthetic objects; also :
works so produced
4b (1) :
fine
arts (2)
: one of the fine arts (3) : a
graphic art
So, while we think of "art" as being an aesthetic object (painting, sculpture, etc), M-W's first definitions of "art" are centered around skill, especially that acquired by experience or study. By that measure, a knowledge of celestial and especially being able to apply that knowledge skillfully to obtain one's position is certainly an "art"
So, while we think of "art" as being an aesthetic object (painting, sculpture, etc), M-W's first definitions of "art" are centered around skill, especially that acquired by experience or study. By that measure, a knowledge of celestial and especially being able to apply that knowledge skillfully to obtain one's position is certainly an "art"
On 3/26/2013 9:37 AM, Hewitt Schlereth
wrote:
Frank, the reason I consider celestial an art is it requires judgement. Making art and making a landfall require both high skill with the tools of the trade and judgement to produce their results - expression in art, safe passage in celestial navigation. Hewitt Sent from my iPad On Mar 26, 2013, at 9:07 AM, "Frank Reed"wrote: > This is a recurring topic for NavList: is celestial navigation an "art"? Hewitt has described it as an art in a few recent messages. If so, what does that mean? Painting landscapes is an art --even if you're bad at it, it is an ATTEMPT to create art as opposed to drawing mere representational surveys. How about painting houses? Is that an art --ever? Obviously celestial navigation has its origins in and is founded upon scientific and mathematical principles, so its foundations are generally considered the opposite of art. That doesn't preclude some sort of "art" in the practice. Or is this just semantics? Is a navigator an artist or an artisan or just a craftsman? > > -FER > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > NavList message boards and member settings: www.fer3.com/NavList > Members may optionally receive posts by email. > To cancel email delivery, send a message to NoMail[at]fer3.com > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > > : http://fer3.com/arc/m2.aspx?i=123100 > >
