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George, you wrote:
"On the face of it, it appears most unlikely that any useful navigational 
information could be provided by such a phenomenon. Of course, if it could be 
shown that real navigation could be done on such a basis, then we would have 
to take it seriously, whether we understood its basis or not. Lewis has 
provided no such evidence in this extract. Until some such evidence appears, 
it seems wisest to file the navigational use of luminescence away under the 
category of "myth", and forget it."

Thanks for the pages from Lewis. I was thinking in terms of common "bulk" 
luminescence which could make waves striking an atoll more visible on a 
moonless night. But this phenomenon, he says, is something else.

It's conceivable that this is a real phenomenon, and it would be worth 
exploring. There are thousands of different bioluminescent species, and just 
as some species on land can sense direction, it is quite possible that there 
is some marine organism, perhaps unique to deep Pacific waters, maybe a 
larger squid, that could provide directional information to a careful 
observer at sea. It would be astounding if it's true, but you know what 
Hamlet said to Horatio...

-FER
PS: For those who have forgotten their Shakespeare, it's that quotable line: 
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in 
your philosophy. " :-)




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