Ignite Seattle 6

 
 

Yesterday’s breakthrough solutions are today’s historical curiosities. Paraphrased from “Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints”, it serves as a reminder that problems and tools change while the artifacts of how we solved the problems stick around a little longer.


I first became intrigued by the stick charts when I learned the foundation of their maps were patterns in the waves rather than the lat/long coordinate system we’re familiar with. After spending a fair amount of time trying to understand the charts, I realized the charts and their legacy serve as a good metaphor for what happens to skill and knowledge when the tools / problems change.


I am thankful to the following people and sites for sharing their writings, maps, images and time, all of which made this presentation possible. Two primary sources worth calling out are the Translation of Captain Winkler’s journal (pdf) regarding the stick charts and David Lewis’s book “We, the Navigators”.


If you have any questions feel free to contact me at kenbeegle@knoviideas.com or @kbeegle on Twitter.

 

Decoding Sticks and Waves

Transparent map is from “Lett’s Popular Atlas” of 1883. Courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection.

Drawing is from a patent for Leak-Stopper, issued to my Great Grandfather, George Edward Jupp in 1914.

Underlying world map is from “Welt-Karte” published in 1844. Map of of the Marshall Islands is from a Times of London map of Polynesia, published in 1895. Both maps are courtesy the David Rumsey Map Collection.

Drawing is “Resolution Bay in Marquesas” by Captain Cook in 1777. Courtesy the David Rumsey Map Collection.

Star compass (known as a sidereal compass) is a recreation of the one found on the University of Pennsylvania Museum’s site.

“Marshall Islands Canoe Under Sail” from the Smithsonian Report, 1899 and included in the translation of Captain Winklers writings (pdf) provided by the Ethnomathematics Digital Library.

Marshall Islands Sea Chart taken by cicadas (flickr) and released under a creative commons license.

Micronesian Stick Chart taken by brewbrooks (flickr) and released under a creative commons license.

Drawing is “Huaheine. J. Webber” by Captain Cook in 1785. Courtesy the David Rumsey Map Collection.

“Marshall Islands Canoe Under Sail” from the Smithsonian Report, 1899 and included in the translation of Captain Winklers writings (pdf) provided by the Ethnomathematics Digital Library.

Diagrams of stick charts are from the translation of Captain Winklers writings (pdf) provided by the Ethnomathematics Digital Library.

Recreation of Marshall Islands Stick chart and maps is based on Map of of the Marshall Islands is from a Times of London map of Polynesia, published in 1895 and Captain Winkler’s original report.

Bibliography