Talk:Edward Wright (mathematician)

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Contents 1 Explanation of Wright's work in Certaine Errors 2 Translation of Latin phrases 3 Translation of Greek word 4 "Sciographically"?

[edit] Explanation of Wright's work in Certaine Errors

Hi, Jheald, thanks for your latest edits to the article. You mentioned that Wright likened the Mercator projection to expanding a balloon or soap bubble inside a cylinder. I seem to recall some of the sources (possibly Hutton) saying that Wright actually referred to a "bladder". Had balloons been invented in Wright's time? Perhaps you might like to check this and update the article accordingly? — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 21:38, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

The ever-resourceful Google books finds an extended quote here. As you rightly say, in the original it was of course "bladder". Jheald (talk) 21:46, 7 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Translation of Latin phrases

Hi, help would be much appreciated with translating the following Latin book titles into English:

• De Magnete, magneticisque corporibus, et de magno magnete tellure; Physiologia nova, plurimis & argumentis, & experimentis demonstrata [On the Magnet and Magnetic Bodies, and on that Great Magnet the Earth ...] – what does the rest of the book title say?

"On the Magnet and Magnetic Bodies, and on that Great Magnet the Earth: new natural science demonstrated by many arguemnts and experiments"--Rafaelgarcia (talk) 01:05, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

• Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis descriptio; ejusque usus, in utraque trigonometria, ut etiam in omni logistica mathematica, amplissimi, facillimi, & expeditissimi explicatio

Description of the wonderful rule of logarithms: a broad, easy and unemcumbered explanation of its use, in trigonometry, as well as in all types of mathematical calculation"--Rafaelgarcia (talk) 01:05, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

• Willebrordi Snellii à Royen Tiphys Batavus, sive histiodromice, de navium cursibus et re navali. (Tabulæ canonicæ parallelorum Canones loxodromici προχειροι.) Lugduni Batavorum: Ex officinâ Elzeviriana.

Tiphys Batavus of Willebrord Snellius from Royen, or perhaps histriodromically(?), concerning the courses of ships and naval affairs. (Cannonical tables of parallels. The canons of loxodromicus (?) προχειροι ) In Leydon Belgium: from the workplace Elzeviriana(?). Can only offer a partial translation here because I don't understand some of the words.--Rafaelgarcia (talk) 13:01, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Loxodrome has an article, that seems to be the meaning of loxodromicus here too. Histiodromic obviously comes from ἱστίον 'sail' + δρόμος 'path', hence 'navigation'. Elsevier is an historic Dutch publishing house. Fut.Perf. ☼ 10:59, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

• Adriani Metii Alcmar D.M. et matheseos profess. ordin. Primum mobile: astronomicè, sciographicè, geometricè, et hydrographicè, nova methodo explicatum in ... opus absolutum, IV tomis distinctum. Amsterdam: Apud Ioannem Ianssonium.

By Adrianus Metius Alcmar, ordained Doctor of Medicine and professor of Mathematics. The Primum Mobile: astronomicaly, sciographically, geometrically and hydrographically explained by a new method in....a complete work separated in 4 tomes.--Rafaelgarcia (talk) 13:07, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

— Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 00:43, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

Thanks, Rafaelgarcia! — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 02:59, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Translation of Greek word

In the article "Edward Wright (mathematician)" a 1624 book by Dutch mathematician Willebrord Snellius is referred to. The title of the book is Willebrordi Snellii à Royen Tiphys Batavus, sive histiodromice, de navium cursibus et re navali. (Tabulæ canonicæ parallelorum Canones loxodromici προχειροι.). Is someone able to translate the meaning of the Greek word προχειροι (procheiroi) at the end of the title? Thanks. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 00:07, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

The word πρόχειροι means off-handed, impromptu, improvised, scratchy, unrehearsed, unprepared, rough etc. My Latin is not what it used to be but does the explanation of the Greek word make any sense in relation to the book's title? Hope I was to some help! Pel thal (talk) 18:19, 22 May 2008 (UTC)

Hmmm. With the help of Rafaelgarcia (see the section above), I've rendered the Latin words in the book title as "[Willebrord Snellius van Royen.] Batavian Tiphys, otherwise Histiodromics (?), Ships' Courses and Naval Matters. (Canonical Tables of Parallels, Loxodromic Canons, Procheiroi.)". This book title was from the British Library's online catalogue. I have to say that "impromptu" or "improvised" at the end of the book title – and in Greek too – doesn't appear to make a huge amount of sense! — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 00:17, 23 May 2008 (UTC)

Maybe extempore or extemporaneous?--Yannismarou (talk) 13:21, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

It's still puzzling, though. Why the switch from Latin to Greek, and why would any part of the work be improvised or extemporaneous? — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 00:28, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

An older meaning of procheiros, matching the original literal meaning "by one's hands", would be "easily accessible". That fits better. Fut.Perf. ☼ 10:33, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Yes. It's probably a nod to Ptolomey, whose book "Procheiroi kanones" ("handy tables") tabulated all the data needed to compute the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets, the rising and setting of the stars, and eclipses of the Sun and Moon.

Snellius is offering analogous loxodromic "handy tables". Jheald (talk) 11:01, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

You're a genius. :-) Fut.Perf. ☼ 11:24, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

No, I just googled procheiroi. With a good enough search engine, almost anyone can be Stephen Fry. :-) :-)

Histiodromice. Histos = something woven, a web, hence "tissue" in medicine. Dromos = a run, hence a course or a line. So "histiodromics" would be something like the study of weavings together of courses; in present-day language one might say co-ordinate meshes (the meshes not necessarily being made up of straight lines). Jheald (talk) 11:27, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Uhm, about this one I'd disagree, see my post in the section above, I'd say ἱστίον 'sail', hence 'navigation'. A compound from the 'net' word would be histo-, as in histology, not histio-. Fut.Perf. ☼ 11:32, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

You may be right. But histion (a diminutive of histos) can apparently also mean web or cloth, as well as sail. Jheald (talk) 12:01, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Sure. I haven't got access to an Ancient Greek (or Humanistic Greek) dictionary right here, but my Modern Greek one has ιστιοδρομία 'course (of sailing ships)', modern meaning also 'sailing regatta', derived adjective ιστιοδρομικός. All other compounds with ιστιο- seem likewise to be related to sailing. Fut.Perf. ☼ 12:13, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

Heh. Now, how's this for a source [1]: De histiodromica – Histiodromica, ut initio dicebam est illa artis seu scientiæ navigandi pars, quæ navis viam seu cursum docet, hoc est, quæ navim ex uno in alium destinatum locum, magneticæ pyxidis Mappæque nauticæ ope, dirigit itinere maritimo brevissimo & commodissimo. Fut.Perf. ☼ 12:31, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

This is all fascinating stuff! It's amazing what a few good minds working together can achieve. Thanks to all for working out the mystery. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 13:30, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] "Sciographically"?

Perhaps you would like to put your collective minds to work on another translation puzzle. Another Latin book mentioned in the article is Adriaan Metius's Adriani Metii Alcmar D.M. et matheseos profess. ordin. Primum mobile: astronomicè, sciographicè, geometricè, et hydrographicè, nova methodo explicatum in ... opus absolutum, IV tomis distinctum, which has been translated [By Adrianus Metius of Alkmaar, ordained Doctor of Medicine and professor of mathematics.] The Primum Mobile: Astronomically, Sciographically (?), Geometrically and Hydrographically Explained by a New Method in ... a Complete Work Separated into 4 Tomes. What does "sciographicè" mean? "Sciographically" is not a word found in the OED. — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 14:49, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Figured it out. "Sciography", a variant of "sciagraphy", is the branch of the science of perspective dealing with the projection of shadows, or the art or practice of determining time by observing the shadow of the sun, moon or stars on a dial: “sciagraphy”, OED Online (2nd ed.), Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989, <http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50215781>. Retrieved on 26 May 2008 . — Cheers, JackLee ^–talk– 16:06, 26 May 2008 (UTC)