Mason Dixon

[Adam J. Thornton]

> > Umberto Eco's _Island of the Day Before_ is a great read for the background
> > of the longitude problem.  By the mid-18th century, you had an accurate
> > chronometer, and star positions at given times were one good way to
> > accurately locate your position; for a geodetic survey this would have been
> > an invaluable set of skills.
> only eco's book is full of inaccuracies (and naive  misunderstandings)... 
> (speaking as a historian of science)

For a work of fiction, I thought it was rather admirable, actually.  What
specifically did you object to?  Sure, if you want to read up on the
longitude problem, get _Longitude_, which appeared last year, author
misremembered, or, better still, wait until November when the Harvard 93
conference on longitude gets its papers published.  I saw a copy of it last
weekend at the Sci Rev conference at Harvard and Brandeis, and it is an
amazingly beautiful book, and probably even worth the $75 it's going to
cost.

Pynchon content?  Uh, none.  Sorry.

Adam
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