NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Digital or analogue timekeepers
From: Peter Fogg
Date: 2009 Jan 24, 06:06 +1100
From: Peter Fogg
Date: 2009 Jan 24, 06:06 +1100
Which raises the reflection:
As someone who by preference uses another person to record the time of sights (firstly; there is usually another crewmember on watch, happy to participate, secondly; more sights can be thus recorded over a few minutes, enabling analysis of them to correct error) I've noticed that digital displays of time tend to get recorded more accurately.
Most likely the reason for this is self-evident - with a digital display what you see is what you get - the only challenge is to write down the numbers as displayed at the right moment.
On the other hand (ho ho) I'd rather wear a watch with an analogue display, as a quick glance 'tells the time' quite well enough when precision isn't needed. A digital display needs mental interpretation, mental rounding, as in:
"19:38:52 .. hmm .. that means its about twenty to eight". Learning as much from a graphical display, which is what an analogue watch-face offers, is much quicker, and involves no conscious effort at all.
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Navigation List archive: www.fer3.com/arc
To post, email NavList@fer3.com
To , email NavList-@fer3.com
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As someone who by preference uses another person to record the time of sights (firstly; there is usually another crewmember on watch, happy to participate, secondly; more sights can be thus recorded over a few minutes, enabling analysis of them to correct error) I've noticed that digital displays of time tend to get recorded more accurately.
Most likely the reason for this is self-evident - with a digital display what you see is what you get - the only challenge is to write down the numbers as displayed at the right moment.
On the other hand (ho ho) I'd rather wear a watch with an analogue display, as a quick glance 'tells the time' quite well enough when precision isn't needed. A digital display needs mental interpretation, mental rounding, as in:
"19:38:52 .. hmm .. that means its about twenty to eight". Learning as much from a graphical display, which is what an analogue watch-face offers, is much quicker, and involves no conscious effort at all.
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
Navigation List archive: www.fer3.com/arc
To post, email NavList@fer3.com
To , email NavList-@fer3.com
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