NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Polynesian navigation
From: Frank Reed
Date: 2009 Jun 6, 16:35 -0700
From: Frank Reed
Date: 2009 Jun 6, 16:35 -0700
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. " :-) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Navigation List archive: www.fer3.com/arc To post, email NavList@fer3.com To , email NavList-@fer3.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---