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thread: since moving to LA i've been sailing a lot. i took @memotv yesterday and his analytical approach reminded me what a multifaceted activity it can be. it spans a number of disciplines and traditions, from polynesian wayfinding to cutting edge engineering. 
polynesian sailors mastered the science of navigation. one of their traditional tools is based on swell interference patterns: they use the boat rocking to determine their position and orientation in known geography, or to estimate the location of unknown islands.
those drawings are from this incredible paper that describes another polynesian piloting tool called "te lapa": flashes of light that radiate from land at distances of 2-200 miles (3-320km). no one knows what causes them. tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.275…
