East is a big bird : navigation and logic on Puluwat atoll / Thomas Gladwin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Gladwin, Thomas, 1916-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Navigation.

Cognitive styles--Micronesia (Federated States)--Puluwat Atoll.

Cognitive styles.

Puluwat Atoll (Micronesia).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (241 pages) : illustrations, maps

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press, 1970.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Puluwat Atoll in Micronesia, with a population of only a few hundred proud seafaring people, can fulfill anyone's romantic daydream of the South Seas. Thomas Gladwin has written a beautiful and perceptive book which describes the complex navigational systems of the Puluwat natives, yet has done so principally to provide new insights into the effects of poverty in Western cultures. The cognitive system which enables the Puluwatans to sail their canoes without instruments over trackless expanses of the Pacific Ocean is sophisticated and complex, yet the Puluwat native would score low on a standardized intelligence test. The author relates this discrepancy between performance and measured abilities to the educational problems of disadvantaged children. He presents his arguments simply and clearly, with sensitive and detailed descriptions and many excellent illustrations. His book will appeal to anthropologists, psychologists, and sailing enthusiasts alike.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Maps and Diagrams

Preface

1. A Sail in the Sun

2. The Way of the Voyager

3. Canoes

4. The Navigators

5. Navigation under the Big Bird

6. Perspectives on Thinking

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliography.

ISBN:

9780674037625

0674037626

OCLC:

434586600