Knowledge of Stars and Compasses

Many of times we take knowledge for granted.  We are told at a young age that if we look into the sky we can see stars and similarly, if we want to know which way we are going we should use a compass.  What we don't always think of is how we got these ideas.  Throughout these readings I appreciated that we learned how we figured out how to sail across the ocean accurately and how those trips changed from using the stars as a guide, as well as the technology that was invented throughout history.  I thought it was also important that the author pointed out that these discoveries also told us what isn't true.  Things like mermaids, the equator being boiling hot and the ideas of magnetic islands were all proven to be myths and now are just stories today.  Additionally, I believe the author did a very good job at pointing out we need to understand that not only one ship crew made these discoveries. Often we only look at the people who were successful and not those who lost their lives trying to find he world answers.  Overall, I enjoyed these readings and getting to know a little more about stars and compasses.