NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Cocked hats, again.
From: Peter Fogg
Date: 2007 Mar 16, 16:24 +1100
From: Peter Fogg
Date: 2007 Mar 16, 16:24 +1100
George Huxtable has, it appears, used many words to retreat from his "could lie well outside" to, now, "SOMEWHERE outside".
Let us be grateful for small mercies.
This whole argument relies on the impossibility of the position lying ON the position line. Gary earlier confused himself by imagining that once sufficiently small the triangle (or other shape - again: a triangle is not ideal) could not contain the position.
Yes it can since the position is infinitely small - unlike the vessel, or the observer.
The position line IS AN APPROXIMATION of the position. The only reason the position cannot lie on the position line is because a line is, by definition, infinitely thin. This argument is, to some extent, a semantic game. The most likely place to find the position is close to the position line.
That's it. It follows that what is helpful (in any practical sense) is to ensure that this approximation is as accurate as possible - note that neither George nor anyone else has attacked this premise (although everyone seems to ignore what logically follows). Only gross error would lead to the position being far from the position line.
The rest of this carry-on is futile. Except for when it becomes nonsensical, as in that "well outside".
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Let us be grateful for small mercies.
This whole argument relies on the impossibility of the position lying ON the position line. Gary earlier confused himself by imagining that once sufficiently small the triangle (or other shape - again: a triangle is not ideal) could not contain the position.
Yes it can since the position is infinitely small - unlike the vessel, or the observer.
The position line IS AN APPROXIMATION of the position. The only reason the position cannot lie on the position line is because a line is, by definition, infinitely thin. This argument is, to some extent, a semantic game. The most likely place to find the position is close to the position line.
That's it. It follows that what is helpful (in any practical sense) is to ensure that this approximation is as accurate as possible - note that neither George nor anyone else has attacked this premise (although everyone seems to ignore what logically follows). Only gross error would lead to the position being far from the position line.
The rest of this carry-on is futile. Except for when it becomes nonsensical, as in that "well outside".
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
To post to this group, send email to NavList@fer3.com
To , send email to NavList-@fer3.com
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