[ExI] Gender-Neutral Side Note

[John Clark]

On Sat, Nov 8, 2025 at 7:37 AM spike jones via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

*> I have heard the argument since I was a child that Columbus
> (intentionally or otherwise) underestimated the circumference of the
> earth.  But being a highly skilled sailor, I haven’t found that notion
> convincing.*


*Even after 14 years and 4 separate transatlantic voyages, on the day he
died Christopher Columbus STILL insisted that he had gone to India and had
not found a new continent.  *

* > **He was the Elon Musk of his day.*


*I'm not sure that's as big a compliment as you think it is.  *


*John K Clark*



>
>
>
> I have heard the argument since I was a child that Columbus (intentionally
> or otherwise) underestimated the circumference of the earth.  But being a
> highly skilled sailor, I haven’t found that notion convincing.  He might
> have theorized that India was an enormous continent that spanned well over
> half the globe.
>
>
>
> The Europeans knew one could walk east from India to China to a sea, but
> they had no way of knowing that sea wasn’t the same ocean that touches
> Spain, or how wide it was.  Someone had to try it. Columbus knew eventually
> someone would.  So he did it.  Of course he was a hero.
>
>
>
> I wouldn’t be surprised if he underestimated it in the sales literature to
> sell stock and get funding.  That kinda stuff still happens to this day.
>
>
>
> spike
>
>
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.extropy.org/pipermail/extropy-chat/attachments/20251108/18936c90/attachment.htm>