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gyrocompass point

English translation: imaginary

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:gyrocompass point
Selected answer:imaginary
Entered by: Charles Davis

09:42 Aug 19, 2018
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Aerospace / Aviation / Space
English term or phrase: gyrocompass point
They had hardly gotten into the air when the ’copter’s loudspeaker came on. “Emergency announcement. There is a small party of Bleekmen out on the open desert at *gyrocompass point* 4.65003 dying from exposure and lack of water. Ships north of Lewistown are instructed to direct their flights to that point with all possible speed and give assistance. United Nations law requires all commercial and private ships to respond.”
--quoted from Martian Time-Slip (1964, science fiction) by Philip K. Dick (link: https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&tbm=bks&ei=cDV5W89...

The story happened on Mars. I have no idea whether the reading of "the gyrocompass point 4.65003" has a reality basis or was just imagined by the author.
In the story, this is a public announcement for all aircrafts on the fly at that time, so 4.65003 stands for an absolute location rather than a relative one. I think it's a little weird that a spot can be located just by a single reading instead of longitude/latitude readings.
Thank you for your help!
updownK
China
Local time: 00:46
imaginary
Explanation:
Taken literally, this doesn't make any sense. It's science fiction, not science fact. Dick is just using it to suggest some sort of navigation system of the future, in which a gyrocompass will somehow be able to act like a GPS device and pinpoint a precise location.

Firstly, a real gyrocompass is a compass: it tells you in which direction you are currently heading as a number of degrees from north. Moreover, it's used on ships and is not suitable for aircraft. It cannot possibly identify a particular point on a planet.

As for the idea of a single number identifying a location, in theory you could devise a system in which longitude and latitude coordinates are combined in a single number, though you would surely need more digits than this. But a number of the form 4.65003 as the identification of a location has no basis in fact, to my knowledge.
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 18:46
Grading comment
Thank you very much!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +2imaginary
Charles Davis


  

Answers


52 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
imaginary


Explanation:
Taken literally, this doesn't make any sense. It's science fiction, not science fact. Dick is just using it to suggest some sort of navigation system of the future, in which a gyrocompass will somehow be able to act like a GPS device and pinpoint a precise location.

Firstly, a real gyrocompass is a compass: it tells you in which direction you are currently heading as a number of degrees from north. Moreover, it's used on ships and is not suitable for aircraft. It cannot possibly identify a particular point on a planet.

As for the idea of a single number identifying a location, in theory you could devise a system in which longitude and latitude coordinates are combined in a single number, though you would surely need more digits than this. But a number of the form 4.65003 as the identification of a location has no basis in fact, to my knowledge.

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 18:46
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12
Grading comment
Thank you very much!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  MPGS: :-)
1 hr
  -> Many thanks, MPGS :-)
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: yes, futuristic Sc fi so not with Lat/Long. !964 was a long time ago in technological terms so this type of reading has almost come to pass! //I know! I remember book 1984 and film 2001 so far in the future but now they are well behind us!!:-(
2 hrs
  -> That's right! Makes me feel a bit old :-) Many thanks!
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