NavList:

From: George Huxtable <george@hux.me.uk>
Subject: [NavList] Re: Do you know this book?
To: NavList@fer3.com
Date: Saturday, January 29, 2011, 4:35 PM

I wonder whether Patrick has been succesfully steered away from the target
book he had in his sights.

He has now given us a much better notion of what he has in mind.

In writing- "I propose to take seamanship, the navigation of a vessel from
port to port across open ocean, as the model.", there's a problem with
words, in that "seamanship" is in itself regarded as another topic, though
really it should embrace navigation. So, for example, there's an "Admiralty
Manual of Seamanship", and an "Admiralty Manual of Navigation".

He adds- "I want to fill out the picture with more early history, some
acquaintance with the state of the art, a wider cultural experience. And
detail, detail, detail."

Trouble is, those are, to some extent, mutually exclusive. There are some
good works on the history and cultural development and importance of
navigation, over the ages, but they tend to omit the technical detail that
engages readers like me, and many members of this list (and turns off many
others). My own test, I suppose, is whether or not any serious trig is
included.

As examples of discursive wide-ranging texts, I would recommend that
Patrick should at least consider for his bookshelf-

"The Haven-Finding Art", by Eva (E G R) Taylor (1956, my ed. 1971). She was
a geographer rather than a navigator, but wrote extensively on navigational
matters, and in general got things right. She ends up in the 18th century,
with Cook.

"Fram Sails to Satellites", by J E D Williams (1992). A lovely book, with
all sorts of unexpected byways. In it can be found ring-laser gyros, the
one-in-four chance of being within a cocked hat, Halley's paper on "The
price of annuities", in Philosophical Transactions, and remarks on the
navigation of London's taxis. It takes the reader from Eratosthenes to GPS,
including a significant content about air navigation, not in historical
date-order.

============

There are other volumes that deal with a restricted subset of the
navigator's art. The development of astro-navigation is covered by Charles
H Cotter, in his "History of Nautical Astronomy" (1968), and this is one
example that doesn't avoid mathematics. Unfortunately, Cotter gets such a
lot wrong that it spoils the value of his book, so I hesitate to recommend
it.

Then there's A R T Jonkers, "Earth's Magnetism in the age of sail" (2003),
which deals with the vital matter of understanding the behaviour of the
compass.

And a superb volume, with all the detail that Patrick might wish for, but
restricted to one nation and one short period (1570 to 1630, or so) - "The
art of navigation in England in Elizabethan and early Stuart times" by
David W Waters (1958).

===============

The trouble is that the subject considered as a whole is such an enormous
one. It involves questions such as the understanding of atmospheric and
ocean-current circulations; the development of weatherly rigs and seaworthy
hulls (in wood, iron, and steel); charting the oceans; the ship is a weapon
of war, or a cargo carrier, a people carrier, a means of exploration.
There's really no end to it, and Patrick will have to somehow ring-fence
his interests.

I would be very interested to read the outcome of these studies.

George.

contact George Huxtable, at  george@hux.me.uk
or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222)
or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Patrick Goold" <goold@vwc.edu>
To: <NavList@fer3.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 29, 2011 3:37 PM
Subject: [NavList] Re: Do you know this book?


Thanks for your comments, George!



Here is what I am looking for.  I am feeling my way around a collection of
ideas.  Some of the central members of this set: rationality, reason,
judgment, wisdom, enlightenment, autonomy.   Big ideas doing a lot of work
for philosophers but in my view inadequately theorized.  A focus is
required, a model in which one can describe the phenomena in detail and
with
a measure of completeness.  I propose to take seamanship, the navigation of
a vessel from port to port across open ocean, as the model.  My main
inspiration: COGNITION IN THE WILD by Edwin Hutchins.  (Do you know this
book?  I recommend it.)   The history and cultural context of navigation
become crucial to the  inquiry.   Hutchins contrasts Polynesian and
European
navigation.  He has little to say about historical development.  His
account
is pre-GPS.   I want to fill out the picture with more early history, some
acquaintance with the state of the art, a wider cultural experience. And
detail, detail, detail.  Is that a closer definition of my interest?
Probably not.  But there it is.  I took a stab at it.



Best regards,

Patrick




On Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 11:45 AM, George Huxtable <george@hux.me.uk> wrote:

> Patrick asked for information about the book "Navigation", (2003) by B.
> Hofmass- Wellnhof et al, as follows-
>
> "My interest in celestial navigation is part of a philosophical interest
> in
> the concept of navigation very broadly conceived.  I came across the book
> (see below) that, f it does what the publisher says it does, would be
> very
> useful to me.  But it is pricey and I have no independent information
> about
> it.  I was wondering if anyone of you had knowledge of this book and
> could
> give me a quick review."
>
> ==============
>
> Here, I have to state that I haven't read, or seen, the book that Patrick
> is interested in.
>
> If he makes his way to the following web address-
>
> http://www.amazon.com/Navigation-B-Hofmann-Wellenhof/dp/3211008284/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_3#reader_3211008284
> that will take him to the book's foreword and contents-list, which should
> tell him a bit more.
>
> As Patrick will realise, the subject of navigation has been turned on its
> head in the last 30 years or so, in that the traditional methods that
> interest this list have been superceded by electronic technology. The
> authors of this volume appears to relate entirely to this modern
> background, as indeed will be the case with most contemporary works about
> navigation. They seem to be Austrian geodesists from University of Graz.
> A
> landlocked country, as Austria is, would not be expected to reflect any
> great maritime tradition, though that was not the case with the
> Austro-Hungarian Empire of a couple of centuries ago.
>
> If the historical side of navigation is of interest, there's only a
> 10-page
> chapter on that topic, written by Herbert Lichtenegger, a name that's
> unfamiliar to me in terms of maritime history.
>
> If Patrick defines his interests in navigational reading a bit more
> closely, this list may well be able to point him in a better direction
> (or
> more likely, if I know this list, in several contradictory directions).
>
> George.
>
> contact George Huxtable, at  george{at}hux.me.uk
> or at +44 1865 820222 (from UK, 01865 820222)
> or at 1 Sandy Lane, Southmoor, Abingdon, Oxon OX13 5HX, UK.
>
>
>  *Navigation **[Paperback]***
>
> B.
> Hofmann-Wellenhof<
> http://www.amazon.com/B.-Hofmann-Wellenhof/e/B001JOS418/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
> >
> *B. Hofmann-Wellenhof* (Author) *›* *Visit Amazon's B. Hofmann-Wellenhof
> Page*Find all the books, read about the author, and more.
>
> See search
> results<
> http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_pop_1?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=B.%20Hofmann-Wellenhof
> >for
> this author
>
> Are you an author? Learn about Author
> Central<http://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/landing/ref=ntt_atc_dp_pel_1>
>
> (Author), K.
> Legat<
> http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_2?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=K.%20Legat
> >(Author),
> M.
> Wieser<
> http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_3?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=M.%20Wieser
> >(Author),
> H.
> Lichtenegger<
> http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_4?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=H.%20Lichtenegger
> >(Contributor),
> Bernhard
> Hofmann-Wellenhof<
> http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_5?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Bernhard%20Hofmann-Wellenhof
> >(Author),
> Klaus
> Legat<
> http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_6?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Klaus%20Legat
> >(Author),
> Manfred
> Wieser<
> http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_7?_encoding=UTF8&sort=relevancerank&search-alias=books&field-author=Manfred%20Wieser
> >(Author)
>
>
> *Product Description*
>
> Global navigation satellite systems like GPS or the future European
> Galileo
> are influencing the world of navigation tremendously. Today, everybody is
> concerned with navigation even if unaware of this fact. Therefore, the
> interest in navigation is increasing. This book provides an encyclopedic
> view of navigation. Fundamental elements are presented for a better
> understanding of the techniques, methods, and systems used in positioning
> and guidance. The book is divided into three parts. Besides a historical
> review and maps, the first part covers mathematical and physical
> fundamentals. The second part treats the methods of positioning including
> terrestrial, celestial, satellite-based, inertial, image-based, and
> integrated navigation. Routing and guidance are the main topics of the
> third
> part. Applications on land, at sea, and in the air are considered. The
> book
> is designed for students, teachers, and people interested in entering the
> complex world of navigation.
>  ------------------------------
>
> *Product Details*
>
>   - *Paperback:* 420 pages
>   - *Publisher:* Springer; 1 edition (October 2, 2003)
>   - *ISBN-10:* 3211008284
>   - *ISBN-13:* 978-3211008287
>
>
>
> Best regards,
> Patrick
> --
> Dr. Patrick Goold
> Department of Philosophy
> Virginia Wesleyan College
> Norfolk, VA 23502
> 757 455 3357
> *
> * Charles
> Olson<
> http://click.email.powells.com/?ju=fe201770746d0c7e721c78&ls=fe191c787062027a711175&m=fef110787c6306&l=fec3137271670774&s=fe2e15747462027d701373&jb=ffcf14&t=
> >:
> "Love the World -- and stay inside it."
>
>
>
>
>


--
Dr. Patrick Goold
Department of Philosophy
Virginia Wesleyan College
Norfolk, VA 23502
757 455 3357
*
* Charles
Olson<http://click.email.powells.com/?ju=fe201770746d0c7e721c78&ls=fe191c787062027a711175&m=fef110787c6306&l=fec3137271670774&s=fe2e15747462027d701373&jb=ffcf14&t=>:
"Love the World -- and stay inside it."