Longitude 96
| Longitude | |
| author | Dava Sobel |
| pages | 184 |
| publisher | Penguin |
| rating | 8.5 |
| reviewer | timothy |
| ISBN | 0140258795 |
| summary | Inventive genius rethinks the calculation of time and revolutionizes navigation. |
A vexing problem, a golden fleece
Specifically, from the age of around 30 (though Sobel points out that the time of his birth is only known within a few years), Harrison devised a series of time-keeping devices designed to keep time with accuracy orders of magnitude more accurate than the water, spring and pendulum-driven clocks of the day. The ferocity and diligence with which he wore down the technical gremlins conspiring to throw clocks off by seconds or minutes a day demonstrates a personal dedication as intense as those of the Las Alamos scientists laboring to forge the atomic bomb. Like those men, Harrison had something else in mind besides the joy of invention -- he was determined to win a prize which in modern money would mean millions of dollars, not to mention the prestige of royal recognition.That prize (in the amount of 20,000 pounds) was set forth in a 1714 act of Parliament for anyone who could provide a practical method for ships at sea to determine their latitude to within half a degree.
With a clear sky and a sextant, finding latitude is relatively easy. Once it was widely accepted that the earth was a globe spinning about an axis perpindicular to the equator, the rest was (to our modern viewpoint) a piece of cake: locate a star (Polaris, at least in the Northern Hemisphere) which approximates an extension of that axis of spin, note the apparent angle from an observer's horizon, and perform some simple trigonometry. The problem with finding longitude is that no such simple trick exists.
By constructing elaborate star charts which correlate observed lunar and stellar positions, it was hypothesized (and eventually demonstrated in practice) that longitude could be determined using a complicated process of observing the sky (only at night, and only on a clear enough night to observe, of course), then comparing the stellar observations with a log of previous observations compiled by astronomers over a lunar-orbit cycle of 18 years. Though cumbersome, the amazine thing is that enough observations were compiled for this method of longitude determination to not only catch on, but for the charts to remain in continuous repair and revision until 1907. So desperate were navigators of the time to know where on the globe they sailed, even this tricky means was better than none at all.
Earthly contention
A deftly-woven substory -- and perhaps really the main story -- is of the rivalry between the astronomers and the clockmakers, both in general and specifically in the case of Harrison and the man who turns out to be in parts both his competitor and his his judge, astronomer Nevil Maskelyne. For the early years of the race for a longitude method, the star-watchers held favor, as their methods were seen as purer and more reliable than those of the craftsmen whose tiny mechanisms were subject to mishandling as well as corrosion and other seagoing inevitabilities. Of all the entrants in this high-stakes race, Maske and Harrison represented probably the best (or at least the best-positioned) of each camp, so their struggles and the eventual outcome are particularly significant.The culmination of Harrison's work came after 4 generations of refinement, a pocket-sized device, the appearance of which is at once antique and surprisingly modern. And (what should come no surprise), the Harrison chronometer keep startlingly accurate time -- good enough to comfortably meet the requirements of sought-after practicable longitude system. For reasons that make the book worth reading, collecting on that prize was anything but simple.
Reactions:
As I read this book on the subway, I found myself nodding and grinning, and at times frowning obediently at the evil-landlord melodrama of Harrison vs. Maskelyne. The story of the unschooled inventor toppling the expectations and machinations of a well-connected science establishment isn't just interesting -- it's positively inspiring. It's hard not to know the eventual outcome just a few pages in, but Sobel keeps the story interesting by loosing the particulars slowly, revealing in turn setbacks and triumphs.Though Sobel doesn't address this issue explicitly, the magnitude of the longitude prize and the thoroughly bureaucratic, arbitrary behavior of at least some of its keepers also raise the issue of state-funded science in general, and made me think of the moon race, mass immunizations and and everyone's favorite giant global network, no matter who invented it.
Longitude is also interesting for what it says about the transfer of information and ideas (if not technolgy itself) which went on in the time before today's Information Age.
Some more praise dressed up as complaint:
The only gripe I have with this book is hardly fair, given it's brevity. But here it is: a few pages of illustrations and more detailed annotations (even an associated Web site) would make the book as much a starting point as a destination. While the reader-friendly avoidance of picayune detail is probably a wise compromise -- I know I appreciated it!, I do wish the book had a few pages at least of additional technical information. The glossy illustrations on and inside the front cover are some consolation at least, since they're good photographs (if small) on a nice glossy surface. That such an ommision is noticeable speaks well of this book -- most books leave me wishing they were shorter, not longer.
You can order this book from ThinkGeek.
As seen on TV (Score:2)
There are some interesting parallels to today. I shall try and remember this the next time I tell someone that their idea can't possibly work, or that computers will never be able to
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Good book, but out ages ago! (Score:1)
Isn't this review a bit old? I read the book ages ago (at least a year I think)...
Anyway. It's a very interesting book, if a little short. Get a copy and have a look, quite interesting to read about a true innovator tirelessly pursuing his dream, even though the authorities at the time do pretty much everything they can to stop him (various reasons, mostly political).
I saw the show based on the book on the BBC (Score:1)
At least I started to see it but it was soo damn dull i couldnea take it.
For A more poetic take on the problem of longuitude, Try reading the "Island of the day before" by Umberto (The Name of the Rose) Eco.
based on the NOVA episode (Score:2)
Eh? (Score:1)
I'm a bit confused by this analogy. How are the religious beliefs of an inventor assoiciated to their field of expertise? Is religion a significant theme in the book? It just strikes me as a bit of an odd way to open the review of a book about the father of the chronometer...
Nit: "Catholic" is capitalized.
$ man reality
I think there was an Illistrated version (Score:2)
I recomend this one.
The Cure of the ills of Democracy is more Democracy.
Re:As seen on TV (Score:1)
Re:based on the NOVA episode (Score:1)
The book was also made into a movie (for TBS, I think). Well worth catching if (er, when TBS being how they are :)
it is on again.
Re: catholic (Score:1)
Harrision only did research in one field, not many, therefore he was not "catholic". Whether or not he was (Roman) Catholic is besides the point.
See the video -- it's pretty good (Score:3)
A&E [aande.com] did a big production of the book that was pretty good. You can order [aetv.com] VHS or DVD direct from A&E's web site.
It showed a lot of the old mechanisms that were very cool. The early models were huge, which big ol' stabilization systems. You don't realize how hard the problem was until you see him go through all the early trials of trying to keep a clock accurate on a ship that is bobbing up and down and weaving all over the place.
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Re:Eh? (Score:1)
Re:As seen on TV (Score:1)
Nerds from any age (Score:2)
"catholic," not "Catholic" (Score:1)
Re:Eh? (Score:1)
Another Nit:
The clause police should have caught that one. 'Like A, unlike X, Y, and Z, B was not a catholic inventor?' What the hell does that mean? And what does that have to do with time? are you saying that Gutenberg was not catholic, or that Franklin, Edison and Tesla were catholic? There is a serious contradiction in that sentence. I suppose you meant "Like Tesla, et. al., and unlike Gutenberg (who seems irrelevant as far as comparisons go) John Harrison was not a Catholic inventor, which the parent to this points out is a seemingly irrelevent tidbit of information to lead with.
Re:Books Shmooks (Score:1)
Re:Nit (Score:5)
catholic 1: Comprehensive; Universal; broad in sympathies, tastes or interests
For once, a Slashdot editor does something literate and he gets flamed for it by those who miss it. BTW - I'm replying to your post because your the only one who obthered to log in. Why waste time replying to AC's.
A little quibble with the subtitle (Score:3)
Re:As seen on TV (Score:1)
Re:Eh? (Score:1)
;)
I'm impressed (Score:1)
John Harrison: 1st Open Source Inventor? (Score:5)
Anyhow, to make a long story short, I found it interesting that the British government required him to explain the workings of H4 to a panel of scientists (etc) in order to pass the knowledge of how it worked on to the public.
The article I've quoted mentions that his endowment made him the first recepient of a government research grant -- and the government had the sense to make sure he published the inner workings before paying him.
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A Shallow Book for the Illiterate Masses (Score:1)
Re:Good book, but out ages ago! (Score:1)
According to amazon, first published October 1995.
There maybe no website, but there is a DVD.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/08027131
Great book; pictures of clocks are on the Web (Score:2)
A&E (Score:2)
The Illustated Version of Longitude [aetv.com]
"enriched with 178 lavish illustrations--including portraits, maps and scientific illustrations--complete with expansive, elegant captions that illuminate and expand upon the captivating story." Also available for a tad cheaper at amazon [amazon.com], i.e. shop around.
So basically, if we weren't so focused on cross promotion with thinkgeek, the one major criticism is moot ey?
arrrtttttttthhuuuuuuurrrrr
Re:Eh? (Score:1)
Re:Nit (Score:1)
What impressed me even more was that I believe he was the first person to use the word "loosing" on this site without it being a typo or misnomer. :)
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Other self-taught (Score:1)
I'd like to see a resource on self-taught inventors/scientists. To me this is much more interesting than longitude.
(Score:2 Off topic) And speaking of inventions, this is the coolest I've seen in a while - sawstop [sawstop.com].
Now that deserves a patent.
Another great invention by somebody that is self- taught is...
Re:See the video -- it's pretty good (Score:1)
Good thing he was British (Score:1)
The invention of the chronometer helped the British rule the sea, and estable colonies all over the world, thus indoctrinating the natives in decnt British ways.
Thus, when the colonies became independent, they became decent, productive countries, like India, Australia, South Africa, and yes, the United States and Canada.
Contrast this with former colonies of France of Belgium, they're generally still roouted in savagery and firmly mired in the third world. The Congo, Cambodia, Algeria.
Re:Shithead (Score:1)
Re:Eh? (Score:5)
Catholicism, the religion, is indeed capitalised. The name "Catholic" was chosen by the Catholic Church because it meant "universal". They were thus stating "We are the universal Church".
The word catholic [dictionary.com], on the other hand, is just a word that means universal or complete.
There is an illustrated version. (Score:1)
There is an illustrated version of Longitude with 110 color and 73 b&w illustrations. Highly recommended.
Check out this link:
The Illustrated Longitude [amazon.com].
TMHBT (Score:1)
Island of the Day Before (Score:1)
For a more fanciful take on the importance of longitude, check out Umberto Eco's somewhat meandering but very engaging Island of the Day Before [borders.com].
Like most Eco novels, it's a little on the huge side, which can be mitigated somewhat by getting the book on tape, delightfully read by Tim Curry.
Re:Book for the Illiterate (Score:1)
Illustrated version (Score:2)
There's an illustrated version of the book which I wish they would've put out in the first place. The illustrated version, I believe, came out around the same the TV version featured on Nova, a pretty good little cross-marketing effort.
It's good. I highly recommend it.
Re:Eh? (Score:1)
Exhibit at Royal Observatory (Score:2)
Re:Slashdot timewarp? (Score:1)
Gutenberg was a devout 'C'atholic (Score:1)
His earliest prints were Psalms and parts of the he latin Vulgate Bible.
A good week for me on /. (Score:1)
Perhaps Gutenberg did not realize it (Score:1)
BTW, When was it last time that Catholics were trying to put you to death for science?
ONCE AGAIN, a definition of catholic... (Score:1)
Re:I saw the show based on the book on the BBC (Score:1)
maybe Catholic but hardly catholic (Score:1)
Re:based on the NOVA episode (Score:1)
BBC Script (Score:1)
I visited the Royal Observatory (Score:3)
The plaque was tactful about it, but what it basically said was that the Soviets used these monsters because they could build a vacuum chamber, and they couldn't build a quartz clock...
Good Lord! (Score:1)
Tesla self-taught ? (Score:1)
One of the Greatest inventors of his century (Score:4)
Firstly as far as history documents he had no formal training. He built clocks that were superior by orders of magnitude. And in order to achieve this he had to invent many of the components from scratch. I'm sure many of you will be surprised to know that this guy even invented the ball bareing in an atempt to make his clocks more friction free. Only when you read the book do you really understand the impact this man has had on modern living.
_Two_ non-Catholic meanings of "catholic" (Score:2)
However, a second meaning is the one seems more prevalent nowadays. That is "liberal". As in catholic tastes.
The two are a bit more closely related if you view them both as being not narrow-minded nor bigoted.
However, the "liberal" definition is probably the most likely in-brain translation that would take place in modern day Britain.
FP.
Re:Nerds from any age (Score:1)
H4 Survives at Greenwich (Score:1)
H4 (and H1,H3,H3) can be found at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, London.
If you cannot visit, you can see a picture online:
http://www.nmm.ac.uk/searchbin/searchs.pl?exhibi t= it1740z&axis=976296806&flash=false&dev=no
Great book, part of our work library. (Score:2)
More Technical Details are Available (Score:1)
David Landes has written a great book, A Revolution in Time [amazon.com] which gives a detailed history replete with enough technical details on timekeeping to make my head spin.
Harrison's work is covered there
Harrison's Last Chronometer (Score:1)
Re:based on the NOVA episode (Score:1)
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Better Link : H4 Survives at Greenwich (Score:1)
This is actually a better link than the one I've provided above:
http://www.rog.nmm.ac.uk/museum/harrison/index.h tm l
Side-effects of solutions to practical problems (Score:1)
The interesting side effect is that its importance as a tool made it ubiquitous. Think of how may things rely on time. Because watches to tell time solved the longitude problem, it became an indispensable tool. Because of the demand for watches, it created volumes which sparked an industry for watches. And because it was common place people used it to solve other problems. To the point where every computer and networking device depend on time to communicate.
I think few people also realize the many modern consumer electronic were things developed for the space programs. Things developed to solve a practical problem which changes our lives.
This is a killer book (Score:2)
Re:John Harrison: 1st Open Source Inventor? (Score:1)
Harrison was seen as an outsider in the British class structure. No one was going to let a country carpenter upset the establishment of astronomers and their unwieldy lunar cycles solution.
The dismantling of H4 was shown, not as a positive early example of open source, but as a simple delaying tactic. They were hoping they might damage the single model Harrison had made. I think this story says more about how the British class structure was threatened by a visionary from outside their midst than some early example of open source evangelism.
The dramatization also indicates the board never gave in and paid Harrison. He only received his just reward by act of parliament.
Fascinating Book (Score:2)
My father, a clockmaker himself, enjoyed the book enough that he immediately had me look up Dava Sobell's address via an Internet phone book, just so he could thank her for it directly. This startled me at the time, because I had no idea he knew such a thing was possible. :)
I haven't seen the A&E version yet, but it stars Jeremy Irons so it must be good. I mean, how could a movie starring Jeremy Irons [rottentomatoes.com] be bad?
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Re:As seen on TV (Score:2)
I enjoyed the TV show. They plot-shift between Harrison's life and the life of a 20th century enthusiast who restored the clocks. One of the underlying themes is that they were both obsessed with the project to the point of destroying their personal lives. One might take it as a cautionary tale for today's computer professionals. If you don't mind the plot-shifting, it's good but rather long. I think it might have been 3 hours.
Re:based on the NOVA episode (Score:2)
US Naval Observatory (Score:1)
Greets --
The Royal Greenwich Observatory is now a muesum, but the United States Naval Observatory at http://www.usno.navy.mil/ [navy.mil] is a good resource for this kind of (modern) information...
Grins --
Carl
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Re:John Harrison: 1st Open Source Inventor? (Score:3)
Consider the problem that the Board was facing: they had a fleet of hundreds of ships that were in desperate need of reliable navigation. What good does one clock do you? As brilliant as a mechanical engineer as Harrison was, the burden was on him not to create just an instance of an accurate clock, but a method of reliably building accurate clocks in the quantity needed.
When I read Longitude I really thought the author gave the Longitude Board the short end of the stick. She painted a picture of an evil board that was trying to delay awarding the prize for no reason other than spite. While there was undoubtedly spite involved on the part of some people such as Maskelyne, I think the Board was exercising due diligence by asking Harrison to test the clock on numerous occasions, build replicas, teach other people how to build replicas, etc. A unique and unreproducible clock would have been almost as useless as no clock at all!
Harrison's Clock Stands Test of Time, Not His Day (Score:1)
twice adapted to television (Score:3)
(Sorry for my previous erroneous post. There have been books made from NOVA episodes; I believe Simon Singh, author of The Code Book, adapted the 1997 episode on Fermat's Theorem [pbs.org] into a 1998 book [fatbrain.com].)
As an inetersting aside... (Score:1)
Then digital watches came along and blew all that out of the water. Sigh.
Re:Tesla self-educated?!?!?! (Score:1)
However, I don't see how his education enabled him to be such a visionary. I've been reading some of his writings and some of it just gives me the chills. He came up with the entire system of alternating current - not by scientific method, not by trial and error, but by envisioning how it would all work. When he first physically built the first AC motor, he had the idea all worked out in his head. The guy was a prophet, and its a shame some of his other ideas never came into being. We could be using an electrical system that transmitted electricity through the upper atmosphere and using ~90% less energy than we do today.
There was a definite spiritual quality at play in Tesla's hugely significant inventions, and that is most definitely not taught in schools.
By the way, check out the PBS special on Tesla Dec. 12.
http://www.pbs.org/tesla [pbs.org]
I watch the sea.
I saw it on TV.
Re:Good book, but out ages ago! (Score:2)
+Book reviews: _Origin of the Species_ by Charles Darwin and _Caves of Steel_ by Isaac Asimov.
+Technology: preview of Microsoft's "Windows 95."
+United States: analysis and discussion of the Clinton-Dole election results.
Timothy, please understand: I mock you because you have the gall to think slashdot readers haven't heard of an international bestseller that came out five years ago.
another literary tie-in (Score:1)
Re:I saw the show based on the book on the BBC (Score:1)
Elgon
Class assignment (Score:1)
Re:Nit (Score:1)
Bullshit. It is a perfectly good word. You are illiterate, that's all.
Re:As seen on TV (Score:1)
Oh, and you'll also find out where 'Dutch Courage' comes from.
Muahahahahaha
Re:based on the NOVA episode (Score:2)
This would tend to strongly indicate that your allegations of "plagiarism" are based on false information, especially since you provide no source or supporting evidence for your assertion, and it appears that she began work on the project well in advance of the Nova episode.
A few comments of my own:
Anyway, this is an excellent book, as is Sobel's newer work, Galileo's daughter, a fascinating look at the life of the genius through the surviving letters of his daughter to the great man. You come away convinced that she was fully as impressive as he was, and the book offers great insights into the complex politics and culture of Italy at one of the most interesting moments in its history.
Writing engaging history is not always easy, but Sobel is a master of the craft - despite the intrigue of the setting, it's no stretch to say that Longitude would likely have been yet another dry and soulless scholarly tome in the hands of a lesser writer. This book should be required reading for anyone that seriously considers themselves a technologist, and the Cinderella/Underdog aspect of the story has been rarely matched. (The better-than-real movie, Tucker, a Man and his Dream comes to mind as something as good in this regard, but its Hollywood exaggeration weakens it some.)
By the way, if you haven't seen the A&E Movie based on Longitude, I'd recommend spending a few hours on it the next time it's on. (Or see if it's in the video stores - I don't know, having not rented a video in years.)
Finally, anyone who likes this sort of thing should very seriously consider subscribing to American Heritage's magazine Invention and Technology, which has all sorts of interesting articles about the history and impact of teechnology.
Re:A little quibble with the subtitle (Score:2)
Of course I'm an engineer, why do you ask?
Re:Eh? (Score:2)
This is why even us staunch Calvinists have no trouble affirming the Apostles creed, which contains a stement of belief in the catholic church, in spite of the fact that we have significant differences with the Roman church dating back to Martin Luther.
A great book... (Score:1)
The originals are still running (Score:2)
They are incredibly complex. I would love to buy a set of drawings, but I doubt I could ever find the time to actually build one, there must be several thousand separate parts in the things.
We won the submarine challenge. Watch us build a coal fired steam race car December 20.
-dp-
H4 is a work of art. (Score:1)
I read this book a while ago, and was thoroughly entranced by the story. I wish I could remember more details, but the thing I remember most is this.
If you take a look [nmm.ac.uk] at the four timepieces that Harrison built, you'll be floored by the final result. The book says something like: "However, when people see H4, they are stopped dead in their tracks."
It really is astounding. H1 looks like an early prototype. It looks as though, if you shook it, pieces would fly in all directions. H2 has the appearance of a later prototype-- much more rugged. It's starting to look like something that can be taken out to sea. H3 looks a little like H2, but with some fancier components added. H4, however, is, nothing less than a work of art. It's so completely different that you wonder what the point of the other three was.
One must have a great deal of respect for a man who, when he sees a better way, drops everything that he's been working on, and follows the new direction. Be it genius or recklessness, one must respect the way he followed his objective, as opposed to his own work.
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Re:based on the NOVA episode (Score:2)
Re:A little quibble with the subtitle (Score:1)
Most people were convinced that a mechanical clock would never be accurate enough to keep Greenwich time. So the astronomers spent decades characterizing the moon's orbit, such that people would be able to determine the time by observing its current position and comparing that to a chart of time vs. predicted position. This turned out to be tough because the moon has a bizarre orbit (with something like a 17-year period), but the lunar method that was being developed alongside Harrison's clock ended up coming to fruition at the same time as Harrison's H4.
Now, put yourself in their position. Which method would you rather trust?
Now, if it were me back in the 18th centry, I think I would have been amazed at the H4 clock, sorry that I didn't have one, and still put my money on the lunar method. I think the real unsung heroes in this story are folks who came after Harrison---like Arnold---who took Harrison's design and improved upon it in such a way that an accurate clock could be mass-produced at low cost. Later design of reliable clocks available to the masses is what made it viable.
Re:GPS Accuracy (Score:1)
Re:based on the NOVA episode (Score:1)
I also worked at Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, and saw how the Marshallese use a knowledge of winds, current, and stars to find very small islands in a very large ocean. The islanders are aware that a stationary island in a steady wind and steady current has a wake, like a motorboat on a lake. The trade winds and ocean currents provide the environment. Marshallese, and other islanders, use a chart of sticks and cowrie shells as a guide, and feel the wave motion with their hands to search for island wakes.
A friend, Virgil Stennit, a telemetry technician, made a trading voyage on a ship navigated in this manner. He was suitably impressed when they unknowingly passed an island during the night. The crew spotted the discrepancy in currents, then the Captain turned the ship around to find the island's wake and the island. The Captain dipped his hand in the water to check the currents, and found landfall easily.
Of course he had to disclose (Score:2)
The King's Ransom was paid to solve a real problem that just isn't getting solved but needed to be. That 20,000 pounds (about several million dollars by todays rates) saved the British Empire millions of pounds and increased its ability to hold its growing empire.
I think the US goverment should take a lesson from this and offer a billion dollars as a prize for the things that need to be solved like cure for the common cold or aids. Right now the common cold cost the country about hundred of billions of dollars a year in lost productivity, makes about 6 billion for the drug compaines and is a major killer of older people. Offering the person (not company) that comes up with a solution to the problem a billion dollars is quite an incentive for a solution.
how DO these people decide... (Score:1)
Harrison is a fascinating guy (Score:2)
I've read the book, and I loved it. It really goes into detail, and manages to make all of it interesting even if you don't have any particular interest in seafaring. Haven't seen the TV show though.
I also found out something else about Harrison: he was a music buff. In fact, he invented his own tuning system (a variation on meantone) based on pi, which apparently approximates just-intonation (small whole number ratios between frequencies) much better than contemporary equal temperament, but never caught on because it required a few more than 12 tones per octave (and hence could not be played on a standard 7-white 5-black clavier keyboard).
A man named Charles Lucy rediscovered it when trying to find an ideal tuning for his guitar, and has developed it into a comprehensive system. Information on it can be found here [harmonics.com].
That site also has links to a lot of resources on alternative tuning systems, a field I happen to be interested in.
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Zardoz has spoken!
Re:Eh? (Score:1)
ONCE again, STFU (Score:1)
Just kidding. I daresay that "catholic" and "Catholic" are the same thing, just as "liberal" and "conservative" don't mean the same things they did 50 years ago. Besides, it's relative to the times, is it not?
The Catholic church derived its name from the word catholic, meaning universal as you said. However, the church has had 1800 years to change that into a brand nameRe:Eh? (Score:1)
> Confusing / Jumbled / Ignorant
> Concise / Accurate
> Long winded / Bloated / Rambling
etc.
Re:Nit (Score:1)
Have a look at some Advanced You're [lancs.ac.uk].
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