NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Occam's razor
From: Steve E. Bryant
Date: 2014 Mar 19, 16:33 -0500
From: Steve E. Bryant
Date: 2014 Mar 19, 16:33 -0500
Dear Frank, There are many readers of this link/blog of yours and I do not mean to denigrate any of them. While I know it takes away from the humor if one needs to "explain it," I'm guessing that there may be one or two of us who just don't get it??? Sorry, but would you please elucidate? Frank, here's my shot at it: Could it mean that the Captain should have known whether they should be changing their course or not; and, even though the course change was brought to his attention, he chose to ignore the evidence until someone on the bridge said something to him about it. Steve Bryant, (Of British and German ancestry) -----Original Message----- From: NavList@fer3.com [mailto:NavList@fer3.com] On Behalf Of Frank Reed Sent: Wednesday, March 19, 2014 2:32 PM To: steveebryant@att.net Subject: [NavList] Re: Occam's razor It wasn't Orion the kid mentioned in the movie. I just checked my copy. Here are the lines from "Airport" (1970), Dean Martin as the captain. The plane is a flight to Rome, currently over the Atlantic, and the crew have been informed that there is a suicidal bomber on board. The Captain is passing down the aisle to check out their suspected bomber after the crew has been alerted, and the plane has begun a gradual turn back to Lincoln (standing in for Chicago). Here's the conversation: Mother: "Oh Captain... our son has a question to ask you. ... Skyler, here's our captain..." Kid: "Before Virgo and Leo were right there, Sir... Now I'm beginning to see Ursa Minor and Cassiopeia. We MUST be turning around." Captain (to his mother): "Why you have a young navigator here!" Captain (to smart kid): "Well I'll tell you son... [blah blah techno-babble] ...so we'll maintain this Borden Hold until we get clearance from Melnics." Kid (crestfallen): "Oh... yes, of course." Father: "What did he mean by that, son?" Kid: "N-never mind, father, ... I'll tell you later." Strange how those early disaster movies thrived on little bits of comedy like this... -FER ---------------------------------------------------------------- NavList message boards and member settings: www.fer3.com/NavList Members may optionally receive posts by email. To cancel email delivery, send a message to NoMail[at]fer3.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- : http://fer3.com/arc/m2.aspx?i=127279