Ixiel comments on Rationality Quotes December 2014 - Less Wrong

8 Post author: Salemicus 03 December 2014 10:33PM

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Comment author: Ixiel 01 December 2014 08:26:10PM 4 points [-]

"There is no such thing as uncharted waters. You may not have the chart on hand to show you how to navigate these waters, but the charts exist. Google them."

Joe Queenan, WSJ 11/30/14

Too strong to be literally true but still

Comment author: Lumifer 01 December 2014 08:31:21PM *  4 points [-]

Think it's false, both literally and figuratively. Moreover, the guy needs to get out of his cubicle and go to interesting places :-)

Comment author: Ixiel 02 December 2014 01:45:46AM *  3 points [-]

95% of the people, 95% of the time is a less good standard when dealing with interesting people, isn't it ;)

EDIT: Downvote for... accepting a different opinion? Duly noted; will do so more quietly in future.

Comment author: Lumifer 02 December 2014 01:52:03AM 2 points [-]

There's a law about that :-P

Comment author: Strange7 01 December 2014 08:45:46PM 2 points [-]

As far as literal charts of literal bodies of water on the surface of the earth, satelite photography actually has pretty much solved that problem.

As far as metaphorical waters, human civilization is larger than most people really think, and consists disproportionately of people finding and publishing answers to interesting questions. "Don't assume the waters are uncharted until you've done at least a cursory search for the charts" is sound advice.

Comment author: Lumifer 01 December 2014 08:52:16PM *  8 points [-]

As far as literal charts of literal bodies of water on the surface of the earth, satelite photography actually has pretty much solved that problem.

Ahem. Do you really think that a picture of water surface which looks pretty much the same anywhere is equivalent to a nautical chart?

Proper nautical charts are very information-dense (take a look) and some of the more important bits refer to things underwater.

Comment author: Strange7 02 December 2014 05:04:31PM -1 points [-]

I'm fully aware that there's more to nautical charts than the water's surface, and I used the term 'satellite photography' somewhat broadly. More of the deep ocean has been mapped by sensors in polar orbits, which can stay on-station indefinitely and cover the entire globe without regard for local obstacles, than ever was (or likely would have been) by surface craft and submarines.

Comment author: ChristianKl 03 December 2014 07:21:21PM 3 points [-]

To quote the National Ocean Service:

Yet for all of our reliance on the ocean, 95 percent of this realm remains unexplored, unseen by human eyes.

NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research is leading efforts to explore the ocean by supporting expeditions to investigate and document unknown and poorly known areas of the ocean. These expeditions represent a bold and innovative approach by infusing teams of scientist-explorers with a "Lewis and Clark" spirit of discovery and equipping them with the latest exploration tools.

From mapping and describing the physical, biological, geological, chemical, and archaeological aspects of the ocean to understanding ocean dynamics, developing new technologies, and helping us all unlock the secrets of the ocean, NOAA is working to increase our understanding of the ocean realm.

In general water is an obstacle for satellites mapping deep ocean ground.

Comment author: Pfft 05 December 2014 03:45:33AM 3 points [-]

the “95 percent unexplored” meme doesn’t really tell the full story of our exploration of the oceans.

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