The story goes back to at least the 1930s, although the advent of the Internet has given it viral growth: a large ship (often a battleship or an aircraft carrier) is steaming along at night when it spots a light ahead. The commander (often a medal-bedecked admiral) hails the other vessel, instructing them to change course. The other vessel refuses, and the admiral gets increasingly puffed up and indignant, finally trying to assert his lofty rank and the size of his huge vessel in an effort to intimidate the other vessel into changing course. Then comes the punch line: the other person is a lowly seaman and the other “vessel” is actually a lighthouse!
A Lesson Un-Learned: Two “Influencers” Drown After Refusing to Wear Life
Jackets So Not to Ruin Their Tans
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A sad account that reinforces an old lesson, while also highlighting an
unexpected risk of social media. Vice reports that two Brazilian Instagram
“infl...
9 hours ago
I cannot emphasize enough Capt. Earles comments on situational awareness and communication. I recently was on a voyage up the west coast and the mate on watch woke me up some where off of Oregon in the middle of the night and said, "there is a fishing boat bearing down on me and I cannot make out his running lights". I asked the mate if he had hailed him on the radio. "No". I asked the mate had he slowed down to assess the situation. "No". Simple things to remember and keep all of us mariners safe. Enjoy the blog, keep up the writing.
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A recent post by Libertarian blogger Julian Sanchez has given me second thoughts on the whole "argument from authority" idea. Sanchez is talking about the global warming debate within the Libertarian community, but the idea can be applied to any debate of fact: should we sometimes believe the experts just because they are experts? I'll have more to say about global warming and its impact on the maritime community soon. In the meantime, find Sanchez's post and the subsequent discussion at http://www.juliansanchez.com/2009/04/06/climate-change-and-argumentative-fallacies/
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