Today we celebrate Columbus (or Discoverers) Day. We all know that more than 5 centuries ago, Italian explorer, Cristoforo Colombo, sponsored by Spain, on October 12, 1492, spotted the Bahamas Archipelago.
It was a comedy of compounding errors, as Columbus thought that the globe was much smaller (yes, most of the navigational world had long accepted that the world was not flat—in fact, Greek scholar, Erastosthenes, estimated a figure very close to the actual circumference of our planet as early as the second century BC.) However, Columbus, seeking Asia, did not use this correct distance, but botched the already incorrect guess of another Greek, Marinus of Tyre, and that of Muslim astronomer, Alfraganus (Columbus was ignorant of the fact that the Arabic distance for a mile was being used), so the resultant estimate to the Indies of about 2400 miles turned out to be about the distance to North America, which he was not aware even existed. He thus called the indigenous people, Indians.
We today honor a journey that would not have been taken if the real physical facts were known, for the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria were far too small to carry sufficient food/water for an actual westward trip from the Canary Islands to Asia. In fact, King John II of Portugal turned him down because their experts did not believe that the distance was only 2,400 miles. King Henry VII of England actually agreed to finance the adventure, but King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, whose experts also had no confidence in Columbus’ numbers, nevertheless prevailed, and that became history.
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The world stock market jumped by more than 10% today. The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 937.42 to 9,387.61, an all time best one day increase of 11%. The Japan stock exchange was closed because of Health and Sports Day, a national holiday. Guess what will happen tomorrow. Hint: the Nikkei will increase. Oil prices surged to $81.90/barrel, so, there must now be some confidence that the recession might not be all that bad, after all. Amazing what one day can do to perceptions. The volatility, though, now frightens me even more.
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Tropical Storm Nana at 35 MPH appeared in the middle of the Atlantic, and is moving west, but should become a remnant in a day or two. A tropical depression also just formed south of Haiti, will move northeast, and could well become a hurricane in three days. Hooray, nothing in the Pacific.
It was a comedy of compounding errors, as Columbus thought that the globe was much smaller (yes, most of the navigational world had long accepted that the world was not flat—in fact, Greek scholar, Erastosthenes, estimated a figure very close to the actual circumference of our planet as early as the second century BC.) However, Columbus, seeking Asia, did not use this correct distance, but botched the already incorrect guess of another Greek, Marinus of Tyre, and that of Muslim astronomer, Alfraganus (Columbus was ignorant of the fact that the Arabic distance for a mile was being used), so the resultant estimate to the Indies of about 2400 miles turned out to be about the distance to North America, which he was not aware even existed. He thus called the indigenous people, Indians.
We today honor a journey that would not have been taken if the real physical facts were known, for the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria were far too small to carry sufficient food/water for an actual westward trip from the Canary Islands to Asia. In fact, King John II of Portugal turned him down because their experts did not believe that the distance was only 2,400 miles. King Henry VII of England actually agreed to finance the adventure, but King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain, whose experts also had no confidence in Columbus’ numbers, nevertheless prevailed, and that became history.
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The world stock market jumped by more than 10% today. The Dow Jones Industrials leaped 937.42 to 9,387.61, an all time best one day increase of 11%. The Japan stock exchange was closed because of Health and Sports Day, a national holiday. Guess what will happen tomorrow. Hint: the Nikkei will increase. Oil prices surged to $81.90/barrel, so, there must now be some confidence that the recession might not be all that bad, after all. Amazing what one day can do to perceptions. The volatility, though, now frightens me even more.
-
Tropical Storm Nana at 35 MPH appeared in the middle of the Atlantic, and is moving west, but should become a remnant in a day or two. A tropical depression also just formed south of Haiti, will move northeast, and could well become a hurricane in three days. Hooray, nothing in the Pacific.
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