Lew Hodgett wrote:

You don't.

Explain to me how you know the Sun is at it's
highest....without a
gadget...

snip

You don't.

You need a sextant, a very accurate watch and a set of Bowditch tables.

If you're not too near the equator, put a stick in the ground (obww -
make it a pointed stick) and when the shadow is shortest, the sun is
highest.

Bowditch's skill as a mathematician permitted him to demand exhorbantent
fees for his services from the shipping company, since without him and
his tables on board, nobody knew where they were.

Bowditch's translation of Laplace showed his skill as a mathematician
(but obviously nowhere near that of Laplace himself), but his
editorial work on Moore's New Practical Navigator wasn't
earthshattering. Other publisher's tables were just as good; the
nautical almanac was the essential item. Besides, celestial navigation
only works well if you already know where you are (at least
approximately).

Today, a $100 GPS receiver has made the whole process mute.

Mute, but fun.

Ken Muldrew

(remove all letters after y in the alphabet)