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Thursday, May 27, 2021

Nothing About The Bakken -- 2021

Neanderthals: two months later, Texas reports zero Covid deaths

Nautical terms: British site here.

Points on a compass: quick, how many points are there on a compass? From allormore/fandom, there are anywhere from four to thirty-two points depending on the compass:

The points of the compass are points on a compass, specifically on the compass rose, marking divisions of the four cardinal directions: North, South, East, West. 

The number of points may be only the 4 cardinal points, or the 8 principal points adding the intercardinal (or ordinal) directions northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW). For nice definition and description, see this link.

In metereological usage further intermediate points are added to give the sixteen points of a wind compass.

Finally, at the most complete in European tradition, are found the full thirty-two points of the mariner's compass.

But in ancient China 24 points of the compass were used.

The mariner's practice of boxing the compass is the action of naming all thirty-two points of the compass in order clockwise.

The names of intermediate points are formed by the initials of the cardinal directions and their intermediate ordinal directions, and are very handy to refer to a heading (or course or azimuth) in a general or colloquial fashion, without having to resort to computing or recalling degrees.

For most applications, the minor points have been superseded by degrees measured clockwise from North. 

While sailing from the Strait of Gibraltar, "every point of the compass threatened a wild storm. My attention was turned to reefing sails ... and I was glad to head the sloop three points or more away from her true course that she might ride safely over the waves." 

So, if Joshua Slocum was using the traditional European mariner's compass, his device had 32 points, or 11.25 degrees between points. 

The names of the points as well as the degrees are at the link above.  

It's interesting to compare the points on a compass with the divisions on a clock and one wonders why the Europeans did not use the divisions of a 12-hour / 24-hour timepiece. If one compares the two, one quickly sees the difference but having said that, the Chinese, with twenty-four points on their compass would have / could have incorporated their 12-hour / 24-hour timepiece with a compass. Fascinating. I know nothing about these things, so another subject Sophia and I will have to learn together.

Last week of school!

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