Our Approximate Location is...: The Sextant's Beginnings

A rather stylized copy of the original

In the old days of naval navigation, sailors would have to rely on the stars to direct them wherever they needed to go. Even the invention of the compass could only help as to telling you where North is, but not necessarily where you currently are. To do that, you had to stare directly at a celestial body, usually the Sun or Polaris depending on the time of day, and give an estimate as to it's angle versus the horizon, this is used to determine latitude. Seems simple, right? Finding longitude at the time, meanwhile, was almost impossible. It required guessing at the distance and angle of the moon to some other large mass body, which at a glance, especially on cloudy or new moon nights, is simply unreasonable to expect any decent results from. This is what prompted the need for a device that could alleviate this concern in the form of the Octant, the predecessor to the Sextant.

Cue the entrance of the Octant's inventor... er, inventors. Funnily enough, two different people have claimed to have invented the octant at around the same time, and the evidence points to the conclusion that they had invented it separately without any knowledge of the other. These people in question are Thomas Godfrey (an American optician, and according to sources from after his death, someone who legitimately had OCD), and John Hadley (an English mathematician). With the octant's invention, a sailor could simply see through the scope vertically and with the mathematical compass attached to it, determining the sun's angle was easy as pie. While still more difficult, determining longitude became magnitudes easier due to the Octant being able to be used as ruler as well. With this invention, navigation became something far easier compared to before it's inception.

I'll admit, I found it funny that such an important invention was "invented" by two people simultaneously. It reminds me of my own favorite past time, writing stories, where in I would try to write what I thought was a unique idea, but the moment I showed it to friends, I would inevitably be redirected to another author who did a story based on the same exact idea. Perhaps creativity is dead, but at least coincidence is funny occasionally.

Image Credit: "Octant de Ramsden" obtained via Wikimedia Commons

Take a Step Back

Following the Reformation, people started to pick up the pieces of their faith and understanding and start putting things back together. Now that they were free to think and act as they pleased (to a certain extent) people started forming new belief systems based on the rapidly progressing scientific discoveries and radical political views. Those who already had shaken faith started to wonder if religion was even necessary. All these conflicting views—while bringing about a lot of good changes in the world—caused just as much contention. 

I think that during the Age of Reason social dynamics began to change. Because people could think for themselves, they didn't have to rely on what anyone else thought or said; they could form their own opinions. With so many new advances and discoveries in science, politics, philosophy, etc. there began to be a larger divide between the different schools of thought. Everyone began to form their own opinions which caused a rift in the societies. Thomas Paine, a revered writer and "thinker," was even thrown in jail for a time while in France for his beliefs.

Today at the office where I work, I overhead two of my coworkers discussing politics. Interested, I went into the office and listened to what they each had to say. The discussion ended with, "no more discussing politics." While the Age of Reason was absolutely crucial to the progression of society, there are negative side effects that have only gotten worse. With so many different views, it's hard to remember that in the end, most everyone is trying to achieve the same thing: truth and happiness.

Image credit: Éléments de la philosophie de Newton of 1738 (public domain images via Wikimedia Commons)