Syllabus and links

SPU 26: Primitive Navigation

Syllabus Fall 2016

            Modern technology insulates us from our environment to the point where we hardly pay attention to the natural world around us. In contrast to those who relied on natural signs for a livelihood hundreds of years ago, we’ve lost the ability to see meaning in the clouds, the sun, the stars, shadows, waves, tides, and currents. All of this meaning disappears behind electronic communications with satellites, vast sensor networks, and supercomputer models. We propel metal cages over asphalt highways and across oceans with little effort, relying on massive consumption of fossil fuels.

Yet centuries ago, humans harnessed the wind to cross vast distances, inventing reliable navigational strategies and using unarticulated laws of nature to find their way. Their lives depended on it.

In this course we will:

1)             Explore the underlying physical principles involved in navigation through observation of natural        phenomena.

2)             
S         Show the student how to observe and use these signs as practiced in the past.

3)             
            Examine the cultures of navigation in Polynesian, Norse, Arab and early Western seafaring.

Rather than present a disparate set of facts as science, the course aims to build on material over the weeks with a coherent progress. During each week, we’ll take on a new topic. Much of the course has historical descriptions of the development and use of techniques, the science behind them, and emphasizes the experience of using these as a primitive navigator.

While one goal is understanding basic principles of navigation, there are a set of other concepts I want the students to explore.   These get to a deeper root of the goals of the revised Gen Ed program:

1)    Navigation as a cognitive practice is mirrored in other domains, like future planning, social interactions, among others.   We explore this using navigation as a reduced, bounded problem that involves the same cognitive processes.   For example, how can we combat confirmation bias?

2)    Dealing with uncertainty: navigation is a highly reduced form of empiricism aimed at answering the question “where am I?”.   The answer can be found in multiple ways, and the knowledge can be expressed within the bounds of an uncertainty.  We sometimes need to give ourselves permission to be wrong in order to learn.

3)    Direct contact with the environment – too often we sleepwalk, oblivious to what the clouds, the sun, or the shadows are telling us.   This is an exercise in mindfulness.

4)    Casting off high-technology – the term “automation bias” describes the notion that if an answer comes from a computer or smart-phone, it must be correct.  Often times, it isn’t.   By shedding these tools for the course, we develop more of an automation-free intuition.   In addition, we gain insight into cultures that are not technologically sophisticated.   We often make the mistake that high-technology = sophistication. 

The first half of the course discusses human navigation, its history and practice. The second half describes topics facing a person setting out to do long distance travel: currents, winds, weather, how sails and boats function, radios, birds etc.

This course can be used to satisfy the (old) Gen Ed categories of Science of the Physical Universe or Empirical and Mathematical Reasoning, and can also count toward the Study of the Past requirement.  It is my aim to continue the course into the revised version of General Education.

Note: This course should not be confused with Astro. 2, Celestial Navigation. Although there is some overlap, this course is intended to present a broad spectrum of physical phenomena and the historical basis of many concepts.

Note on math: only fairly simple mathematical operations will be used, but we want you to carry them out long-hand – addition, subtraction, multiplication, and long division. No calculators.  Part of this is to carry only as many significant figures as are appropriate given the magnitude of uncertainties.  Many solutions will be graphic in nature, which is why we ask you to bring compasses (drawing and magnetic), protractors, and rulers to lecture. 

Instructors

Professor:        John Huth

                        236 Lyman Laboratory

                        huth@physics.harvard.edu

                        617 495 8144

                        Office Hours Tuesday 12-2, and by appointment

Head TF:         Mark Gabrielson

                        mjgabrielson@gmail.com

                        (location and office hours to be announced)

TF’s:               Stephen Chan

                        Palfrey House

                        schan@physics.harvard.edu

                        (location and office hours to be announced) 

                        Max Mulhern

                        maxmulhern@hotmail.com

                        (location and office hourse to be announced)

Course structure

Lectures:

Mondays and Wednesdays 2:30-4 PM, Science Center Hall D.

Nearly all of the course work is to be completed in notebooks that are provided in the Coop as part of the course materials.   Assignments are logged in the notebooks, which are turned in at the end of Monday’s lecture, and returned at the start of Wednesday’s lecture.  

While some of the lectures are straight lecturing, we will have some breakouts to do exercises in the notebooks, and also students will be called on randomly to discuss some aspect of the material to the rest of the lecture.   

No laptops, cell phones, or calculators are allowed in lecture.   When this policy was implemented in the past, many students expressed gratitude for the lack of distractions from other students.  I recommend a separate notebook from the assignment notebook to take notes in.

Bring protractors, drawing compasses, and rulers to lecture.   I recommend pencils with good erasers as well.

Lectures will not be video-taped after the shopping period. 

Sections:

Sections will meet starting on the 3^rd week of classes, and will be held Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons.   In addition to consolidating material presented in lecture, introduction to assignments will also be carried out.  

Basis of grade:

Assignments: There are 9 assignments total.   They emphasize navigation and empiricism.  In addition to this, we ask the students to write some reflection on the broader cognitive aspects of what they learned from the assignments.   The assignments take place outdoors in large part.  Some can be performed in groups – we will let you know which ones are to be performed in groups and which ones done independently.  

Many of the assignments are to be done outside.   One assignment we’ll do on a sailing vessel in Boston Harbor.   One assignment on the stars will have a culmination on the roof of the Science Center at night, with a star quiz using visible stars.   Because of timing, students will have to work these exercises into their schedules.

Nearly all the assignments are written up in a single notebook by all students which gets turned in at the end of Monday’s lecture and returned at the beginning of Wednesday’s lecture.   All comments, feedback, and grading will be done on sticky notes.   At the end of the course, students will keep the notebooks.  

Class participation:

On shipboard, there are ‘watches’, where sailors are assigned tasks and expected to carry out the tasks faithfully.  The lives of the crew members depend on it.   In some ways, we make class participation something of a microcosm of this concept.

We expect you to attend both lectures and sections, and actively participate.   Part of this is to increase engagement, but it also provides us with feedback on which concepts are unclear.  

During lectures, we will randomly call on students to come to the front of the lecture hall and describe some aspect of the assignments.   Typically, we won’t look for the ‘rightness’ or ‘wrongness’ of the description, but rather use this as a way of getting students and course staff familiar with each other.    This also helps us assess which concepts students understand, and which ones they don’t understand.   The random nature of calling on students assures fairness, and encourages attendance.   If you cannot make a lecture for some reason, let the Professor or your TF know ahead of time, if at all possible. 

In some of the assignments, you have to show up and participate outside of normal classroom hours – e.g. the roof of the Science Center for the star exercise, the sailing vessel Adirondack for the navigation on water exercise.

Quizzes

There will be some quizzes on the locations of stars in the sky in section as a prelude to the assignment on the roof of the Science Center.

Bok Center Video

Groups of students schedule a 3-5 minute video taping session with the Bok Center to discuss any of the 9 navigation assignments, including some of the reflective components. 

No midterm exam

Final exercise:

The final exercise is take-home, and will be completed in the notebook.   It is, effectively, a long navigational exercise that reprises most of the concepts taught in the class.  Students do this individually, not in groups. 

Grading algorithm

There is no perfect algorithm to demonstrate competency in learning the topic, but we will use the following linear weighting.   Each aspect will be scored out of 100%.  

Final number (out of 100) = 0.6*(Assignment average) + 0.1*(Participation)+0.1*(Quizzes) + 0.1*(Video) + 0.1*(Final exercise)

We endeavor to make the mean value of grades on assignments roughly 90%.   Overall, in Gen Ed science courses, the mean in the A-/B+ boundary is the mean.   We try to assign overall grades based on the rubric of 100-90% = A’s, 90-80 = B’s, 80-70 = C’s.   This should give students feedback throughout the course as to where they stand.   We cannot make complete guarantees of this grading scale, but this is the goal. 

Materials

Many of the readings will be out of the book, “The Lost Art of Finding Our Way”.   In addition to this, we will post a large number of supplemental postings.   There is also a practical online hyperlinked guide to simple navigation with a map/chart, and compass.   The book is available at the Coop, along with the standard notebook we expect people to use.  All assignments and work supporting the assignments are to be done in a computational notebook, also available at the Coop.

Text

Assignment notebook

In addition to the above, you’ll need some drafting tools and a magnetic compass – also available as part of the course package at the Coop.

Drafting compass

Magnetic compass

Protractor 

Ruler

Although not necessary, I also recommend a set of parallels, which can be found at Staples, or simply ordered online.

Parallels 

 Week 1 29 August (classes start Wed Aug 31)

Lecture 1: Wed Aug 31^st  Introduction

Reading: Chap 1,2, Handout on uncertainties, dimensional analysis, significant figures, how to organize the assignment notebook. 

Week 2 5 September (Labor day is 5 Sep)

Lecture 2: Wed Sep 2^nd Maps in the Mind

Reading: Chap. 3, 4, Handouts on dead reckoning (1 and 2), angular measures

Available: Assignment 1 on Wed. Sep 2^nd.

Sectioning by the end of the week

Note: Much of the details of managing dead reckoning throughout the course can also be found on the following website:

http://artofwayfinding.blogspot.ch/2014/11/on-go-navigation.html

You can follow the hyperlinks.

Week 3 12 September

Lecture 3: Mon Sep 12^th On being lost, correlations

Lecture 4 Wed Sep 14^th Distances and dead reckoning I

Reading: Chap. 5,6, Handouts on correlations, small angle approximation.

Assignment 1 Due in lecture Sep. 12^th, returned Sep. 14^th

Available: Assignment 2 Wednesday – paces, angular measures, correlations

Start sections this week

Week 4 19 September

Lecture 5: Mon. Sep 19^th Distances and dead reckoning II

Lecture 6: Wed. Sep 21^st Maps and compasses I

Reading: Chap. 7, handout- topographic maps, triangulation

Due: Assignment 2 Mon, returned Wed.

Available: Wed. Sept. 21^st Assignment 3 – magnetic compasses, triangulation.

Some exercises to test skill at reading topographic maps can be found at this website:

http://education.usgs.gov/lessons/map_mysteries.html

Week 5 26 September

Lecture 7 Sep 26^th Maps and compasses II, Stars I

Lecture 8 Sep 28^th Stars II

Reading: Chap 8, Handout- star compass

Due:  Assignment 3 Monday, returned Wednesday

Available: Assignment 4 – Sept 28^th – walk from Chapel to CfA

Week 6 3 October

Lecture 9 Oct 3^rd Sun I

Lecture 10 Oct 5^th Sun II, Moon

Reading: Chap 9, handout – equation of time, declination of the Sun

Available: Assignment 5 – Adirondack exercise

Section: Star quiz 1

Note: Assignments 4+5 are done concurrently and turned in at the same time.

Week 7 10 October (Columbus Day is Oct 10)

Lecture 11 Oct 12^th Atmospheric refraction, horizon

Reading: Chap 10, details about latitude and longitude

First week of Adirondack exercise

Section: Star quiz 2

Week 8 17 October

Lecture 12 Oct 17^th Latitude and longitude I

Lecture 13 Oct 19^th Latitude and longitude II

Second week of Adirondack exercise

Available: Exercise 6 – star gazing

Start of star gazing on roof of Science Center – schedule announced

Week 9 24 October

Lecture 14 Oct 24^th Latitude and longitude III

Lecture 15 Oct 26^th Weather I

Reading: Chap11

Due: Assignment 4+5 Monday, returned Wednesday

Second week of star gazing – schedule announced

Week 10 31 October

Lecture 16 Oct 31^st Weather II

Lecture 17 Nov 2^nd Waves

Reading: Chap. 12

Third week of star gazing- schedule announced

Available: Assignment 7: latitude and longitude by solar observation

Note: Assignments 6+7 are done in parallel and turned in at the same time

Week 11 7 November

Lecture 18 Nov 7^th Tides

Lecture 19 Nov 9^th Ocean currents

Reading: Chap 13,14

Due: assignments 6 and 7 on Monday, returned on Wednesday

Available: November 9^th assignment 8 – weather observation

Week 12 14 November

Lecture 20 Nov 14^th Ship design

Lecture 21 Nov 16^th Sails

Reading: Chap 15, 16

Week 13 21 November (Thanksgiving week)

Lecture 22 Nov 21^st Planets, birds, planes, ocean going vessels

Week 14 28 November

Lecture 23 Nov 28^th Radio triangulation

Lecture 24 Nov 30^th Putting it all together: redundancy in navigation and navigation in culture

Reading: Chap 17, 18, handout on radio triangulation

Due Monday, Assignment 8 weather observations, returned Wednesday

Available: Assignment 9 – radio triangulation Wednesday

Reading Period December 3-9:

Due: Monday, December 5^th, radio triangulation exercise, returned Wednesday – location of notebook dropoff and return in Science Center Hall D

Review of material on December 5^th

Available: Wednesday December 7^th- final exercise.  

Final Exam Period December 10-20

Due: Final Exercise Monday Dec 12^th.   Notebooks available 15^th. 

Grades available December 17^th.