The wrong kind of compass?

[illabelle]

I need an inexpensive compass and found this one on Walmart's website. It seems to be everything I want except for one thing....[scroll down]
https://www.bing.com/th?id=OP.MqJw1u6Z3F%2bfJw300C300&w=300&h=300&pid=PACarousel


Stay oriented with the Coghlans Map Compass, 8162. Use the see-through base with three scales in conjunction with a topographic map to keep on course, map a route or determine your location. The liquid-filled compass housing and a luminous pointer enable smooth and swift positioning even in dim light or dark. Color: Black. Gender: Male.


It's male!
What does a female compass look like? :-?

[rocketsocks]

I don’t think I’d feel comfortable with a male compass in my pocket...but that’s me :D

[iAmKrzys]

I have Brunton TruArc3 - at $13 (REI) it may be a little bit more expensive than what you see at Walmart but the quality is likely better and you can rotate center plate to make declination adjustment which many cheap compasses cannot do. https://www.rei.com/product/877062/brunton-truarc-3-compass

[Feral Bill]

Get a female and start a compass farm.

[illabelle]

Get a female and start a compass farm.

What do the females look like? It's not like a dog where you just turn it over and take a look...

[RangerZ]

This is the wrong kind of compass. 42018

This is from my father’s drawing set that I then used. Unfortunately WWII interrupted his engineering education and he didn’t get back to it.

(Yes, at one time we actually drew on paper instead of a screen. I still have a sand paper pad and eraser cleaning pads, too.)

[illabelle]

I don’t think I’d feel comfortable with a male compass in my pocket...but that’s me :D

But have you ever TRIED it?? Well, have you?

Nevermind, don't answer that!!

[4eyedbuzzard]

Compasses are male? Perhaps because the pointer only maintains a given direction for a short while, and then wanders about looking for a new attraction?

[SwathHiker]

The female is shown inset with her "legs" in a sort of pose. The male wears a bow tie if that is what you mean by this post.

[blw2]

This is the wrong kind of compass. 42018

This is from my father’s drawing set that I then used. Unfortunately WWII interrupted his engineering education and he didn’t get back to it.

(Yes, at one time we actually drew on paper instead of a screen. I still have a sand paper pad and eraser cleaning pads, too.)

Truly a lost art. I took 3 years of drafting in high school, followed by a 2 year associates degree in drafting and design before going on to engineering at a university. This was all just as CAD was coming onto the scene, so it was maybe 90% pencil and ink on vellum and mylar. Later went on to do a lot of cad/cam work. My current job still has me reading architectural plans but I haven't generated any mechanical or architectural drawings in many years and even longer on paper.

Now days a lot of the stuff I see produced by professionals is really quite pathetic.

A lost art gone the way of blacksmithing and hand spun wool.

[RangerZ]

Truly a lost art. I took 3 years of drafting in high school, followed by a 2 year associates degree in drafting and design before going on to engineering at a university. This was all just as CAD was coming onto the scene, so it was maybe 90% pencil and ink on vellum and mylar. Later went on to do a lot of cad/cam work. My current job still has me reading architectural plans but I haven't generated any mechanical or architectural drawings in many years and even longer on paper.

Now days a lot of the stuff I see produced by professionals is really quite pathetic.

A lost art gone the way of blacksmithing and hand spun wool.


Hand drafting is a lost art. I've lost all of my lettering skills. But the CADD draftsmen that we had could do truly impressive work.

I did notice that reading drawings and understanding drawings was a lost skill.

[Leo L.]

This is the wrong kind of compass. 42018

This is from my father’s drawing set that I then used...

Funny you call this compasses in English.
Have several of them from my first two decades of business work (nowadays its all 3d-CAD).
Seems that most have been German make, like yours.

[Leo L.]

In the OP, maybe its the drawstring that makes it a male.
Females might have different colors there?

[illabelle]

From the speculative replies, it seems like most of you are as puzzled as I am. Maybe I'll ask the cashier at Walmart. :D

[rocketsocks]

From the speculative replies, it seems like most of you are as puzzled as I am. Maybe I'll ask the cashier at Walmart. :Dthad be good for a laugh

[illabelle]

Hand drafting is a lost art. I've lost all of my lettering skills. But the CADD draftsmen that we had could do truly impressive work.

I did notice that reading drawings and understanding drawings was a lost skill.

I work for an architect. He doesn't very often do any drafting, but he did some for a recent project. Nice work! Wall sections, meticulously drawn by hand. Have to say though that we did add notes in CADD. Aren't many left of his generation. When he retires, like his partner did a couple years ago, we'll lose those skills.

[blw2]

IMO, CAD is wonderful in some ways....makes editing quick and easy as an example...but it totally degrades the art. Drawing by hand can be faster and in some ways better for the first draft....probably what that architect illabelle tells about was doing. But that speed through editing in CAD breeds errors, where drawing by hand forced a drafter to slow down and think about what they were doing...and more often than not the software, just by its nature forces things like dimensions to be shown incorrectly. Sometimes detail pages are a scrambled scavenger hunt, notes are listed out of order or in the wrong direction, leader lines cross things they shouldn't, etc.... There used to be ANSI standards for everything...a right way and a wrong way...but I just don't think they teach those anymore. I've learned through the Architects I've worked with actually have very little drafting training in school. Engineers even less in my experience. Some get good through on the job training and practice but they learn standards of their firm, so there is huge inconsistencies in the art.

[cmoulder]

C'mon, isn't it obvious? :D

42019

And that needle thing that swings around willy-nilly is my wife telling me I'm going the wrong way. :-?

[illabelle]

IMO, CAD is wonderful in some ways....makes editing quick and easy as an example...but it totally degrades the art. Drawing by hand can be faster and in some ways better for the first draft....probably what that architect illabelle tells about was doing. But that speed through editing in CAD breeds errors, where drawing by hand forced a drafter to slow down and think about what they were doing...and more often than not the software, just by its nature forces things like dimensions to be shown incorrectly. Sometimes detail pages are a scrambled scavenger hunt, notes are listed out of order or in the wrong direction, leader lines cross things they shouldn't, etc.... There used to be ANSI standards for everything...a right way and a wrong way...but I just don't think they teach those anymore. I've learned through the Architects I've worked with actually have very little drafting training in school. Engineers even less in my experience. Some get good through on the job training and practice but they learn standards of their firm, so there is huge inconsistencies in the art.
After several years in education, I began my second career in architecture. Went back to school and got the masters in '03, haven't bothered with licensing and registration. In my little bitty opinion, the training in school was primarily focused on design theory and trends through history, and not so much on the practical skills. The expectation is that most of the real education comes on the job - and it does.

[nsherry61]

C'mon, isn't it obvious? :D

42019

And that needle thing that swings around willy-nilly is my wife telling me I'm going the wrong way. :-?
Indeed. Now I want to see an image of a female compass. Hmm.

[colorado_rob]

After several years in education, I began my second career in architecture. Went back to school and got the masters in '03, haven't bothered with licensing and registration. In my little bitty opinion, the training in school was primarily focused on design theory and trends through history, and not so much on the practical skills. The expectation is that most of the real education comes on the job - and it does.Funny, I tried the second career thing, got my master in Arch. in '01 from U of Colorado in Denver.... right while graduating, we were in big downturn in building in Denver, wound up back in Engineering so never used my MA professionally... no regrets though, but that Arch. school was maybe the hardest thing I've ever done, tons of fun though.

Anyway, adding to the drift, a very influential concept/book we read while in school was this:

http://drawright.com/theory/

Basically says we are more creative when actually using our hands, though I don't see why a mouse wouldn't work as well, as it's driven by our hands, just a different mechanism than a 2B pencil.

[illabelle]

C'mon, isn't it obvious? :D

42019

And that needle thing that swings around willy-nilly is my wife telling me I'm going the wrong way. :-?

Hahaha! :D I'm picturing your wife swinging a frying pan or a sword or a big stick around yelling at you!

-------

Actually, I think we're starting to get somewhere. Here's my theory: A magnetic compass (not a drawing compass) is a device that responds to a magnetic field. Being a magnet, our planet has a north and south pole that powerfully attract one another, and that helps keep Earth from flying apart. I wondered if all planets have a magnetic field, and Reddit said, No. Imagine trying to navigate on such a planet - seems impossible!



Only two planets have no permanent magnetic field. In order:


Mercury has a magnetic field. It's not super strong (possibly because it rotates fairly slowly), but it does exist.
Venus does not have a magnetic field. We're fairly sure the core is liquid metal, so for some time scientists believe it lacked a magnetic field because it rotated too slowly. It now seems to be the case that because its interior has such an even temperature throughout, there's little to no convection going on in the core.
Earth has a magnetic field. In fact it's very strong for our size, possibly because we rotate at a decent rate, and there's a strong thermal gradient between the center and outer edge of the core.
Mars does not have a magnetic field. It almost certainly did once - we still see crustal remnants of this ancient field in some rocks - but then its liquid metallic core cooled and solidified.
Jupiter has a magnetic field. It's incredibly strong - much stronger than any other planet. This is probably because about ~70% of the radius is filled with liquid metallic hydrogen, and the planet rotates very quickly.
Saturn has a magnetic field. Similar to Jupiter, Saturn's interior is filled with liquid metallic hydrogen (although not quite as much), and rotates quickly. Curiously, unlike any other planet in our solar system, its magnetic axis and rotation axis are almost perfectly aligned...we don't know why.
Uranus has a magnetic field. This is a bit odd, since Uranus is not large enough to have the pressures required for metallic hydrogen. We currently believe this is because there is an "ionic ocean" beneath the atmosphere. Essentially this is a mix of water, ammonia, ammonia hydrosulfide, etc. Technically you do not need to have a rotating, liquid metal to generate a magnetic field - just a rotating, electrically conductive fluid.
Neptune has a magnetic field. Similar to Uranus, most likely caused by a deep ionic ocean.


Honorable mention: One of the moons of Jupiter, Ganymede has a magnetic field. Again, probably the ionic ocean thing - this time probably due to dissolved salts - underneath the ice crust. That said, it's unclear why Europa does not have a permanent magnetic field.


Interestingly, it's the two planets closest to us, Mars and Venus, that don't have a magnetic field. Mars/Venus. Men/Women. It's like Earth is stuck in the middle between a divorced asexual couple that never could understand each other. I'm pretty sure that John Gray doesn't know what he's talking about and all the marital conflict on this planet is his fault - somehow. Anyway, that's my theory.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-t3IA-qANk7U/T_JDbeHxVlI/AAAAAAAAAQM/tsfcN5AWU_s/s1600/435176_091109164110_men_are_from_mars_women_are_fr om_venus_by_john_gray.JPG

[4eyedbuzzard]

Funny, I tried the second career thing, got my master in Arch. in '01 from U of Colorado in Denver.... right while graduating, we were in big downturn in building in Denver, wound up back in Engineering so never used my MA professionally... no regrets though, but that Arch. school was maybe the hardest thing I've ever done, tons of fun though.

Anyway, adding to the drift, a very influential concept/book we read while in school was this:

http://drawright.com/theory/

Basically says we are more creative when actually using our hands, though I don't see why a mouse wouldn't work as well, as it's driven by our hands, just a different mechanism than a 2B pencil.
Beyond my frustration with AutoCAD and Mastercam and such, I spent a LOT of time drawing artwork using a Wacom touchpad and also a touchscreen Cintiq tablet. These are very sensitive and mimic pen/brush pressure, stroke, and such. But try as I might, they still wouldn't fully replicate the old fashioned method - for me. I produce better work going old school and then scanning and then editing digitally. There are people though, who produce amazing works of art on them. I think if you grew up old school, there is a higher learning curve than those who are immersed in digital art from the beginning.
https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&rlz=1C1GGRV_enUS751US751&biw=1280&bih=893&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=mMmSWp3VJ4XYsAWk8YPACw&q=cintiq+art+examples&oq=cintiq+art+examples&gs_l=psy-ab.12...0.0.0.6416.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c. .64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.tSrBrRu9N4w

[illabelle]

Funny, I tried the second career thing, got my master in Arch. in '01 from U of Colorado in Denver.... right while graduating, we were in big downturn in building in Denver, wound up back in Engineering so never used my MA professionally... no regrets though, but that Arch. school was maybe the hardest thing I've ever done, tons of fun though.

It's been 15 years, and I'm STILL tired!


Basically says we are more creative when actually using our hands, though I don't see why a mouse wouldn't work as well, as it's driven by our hands, just a different mechanism than a 2B pencil.

The difference is that a mouse has only left click, right click, double click, and scroll. Every click is exactly the same as every other.

In contrast, my hand has five fingers, at least 15 joints, and my finger can "click" softly or emphatically or press without "clicking". It can scratch or stroke. It responds to my emotion with a tremble, or a dash of boldness. What mouse can do all that?

[Sarcasm the elf]

Hmm, when the title said wrong type of compass, I just assumed you meant because it was a Coghlans.

[4eyedbuzzard]

It's been 15 years, and I'm STILL tired!



The difference is that a mouse has only left click, right click, double click, and scroll. Every click is exactly the same as every other.

In contrast, my hand has five fingers, at least 15 joints, and my finger can "click" softly or emphatically or press without "clicking". It can scratch or stroke. It responds to my emotion with a tremble, or a dash of boldness. What mouse can do all that?If you have never tried one one of these, you'd be very impressed by their capabilities to mimic actual drawing https://tabletunderbudget.com/best-tablets-for-artists-top-drawing-tablets/

But, there definitely is a learning curve. Just as with pen/pencil/brush, it takes time to master direct to digital art.

[Rain Man]

...I'm pretty sure that John Gray doesn't know what he's talking about ....

Have you not read his passage about a couple driving somewhere on a date?! Spot on. LOL

My wife is a college professor. Used to teach pencil-and-paper mechanical drawing/architectural drafting, then added AutoCAD, but now it's all Revit. Used to be also that the college required a semester or two of hand drafting on paper as a prerequisite for the computer drafting classes. No longer. It's all Revit.

Not surprised that Walmart promotes sexism. Sigh. But fun to at least poke fun at and get a laugh!

[blw2]

C'mon, isn't it obvious? :D

42019

And that needle thing that swings around willy-nilly is my wife telling me I'm going the wrong way. :-?

oh now that's funny!

[rocketsocks]

Classic case of the little needle tellin’ the big needle which way to go.

[skater]

Of course the compass is male. Did you ever see one ask for directions?

[illabelle]

Of course the compass is male. Did you ever see one ask for directions?

Haha! So true!

As a result of this discussion, I learned from a friend that a compass made for the northern hemisphere often won't work properly in the southern hemisphere. Apparently the needle has to be weighted to account for vertical magnetic forces that increase as you go nearer to the poles - something called "dip." If not weighted for the hemisphere you're in, the needle will dip and hit the base, no longer free-spinning.

So perhaps the southern compass is female?

[TexasBob]

.........So perhaps the southern compass is female?

No, just talk slower and are more friendly than a northern one.

[Just Bill]

Of course the compass is male. Did you ever see one ask for directions?

AH-Ha! A definitive answer based in observational logic.

Of course then the inverse proves your premise in that a GPS must be female as it's always listening to where you want to go and communicating directions, it might not always get you there but at least there is a dialogue.

So we seem to have identified the biological gender of various location devices successfully.

However, that type of thinking is frowned upon these days and we must accept that gender is a social construct and the compass could be gender fluid..
Really we may need to consider that it's no longer correct to put the red car in the blue garage... especially as they've pretty well done away with that system and it's all the same color now.
Come to think of it... miss illabelle may have a potentially sweet lawsuit on her hands given a large corporation assumed the gender of the compass and perhaps further inferred that only male compass/female user was an acceptable relationship as it didn't provide the option to purchase a female compass.

Course now I'm open to liable for that statement but I have nothing worth suing for as I use a Silva 1-2-3 starter which is either much too young or much too old to safely take on the trail depending on how compass years convert to human years.
Of course if compass's have a gender is right to sell them at all and what are the moral implications of owning one?
I know I am feeling some emotional trauma. :banana
Maybe the navigation apps are the solution after all.

[rocketsocks]

AH-Ha! A definitive answer based in observational logic.

Of course then the inverse proves your premise in that a GPS must be female as it's always listening to where you want to go and communicating directions, it might not always get you there but at least there is a dialogue.

So we seem to have identified the biological gender of various location devices successfully.

However, that type of thinking is frowned upon these days and we must accept that gender is a social construct and the compass could be gender fluid..
Really we may need to consider that it's no longer correct to put the red car in the blue garage... especially as they've pretty well done away with that system and it's all the same color now.
Come to think of it... miss illabelle may have a potentially sweet lawsuit on her hands given a large corporation assumed the gender of the compass and perhaps further inferred that only male compass/female user was an acceptable relationship as it didn't provide the option to purchase a female compass.

Course now I'm open to liable for that statement but I have nothing worth suing for as I use a Silva 1-2-3 starter which is either much too young or much too old to safely take on the trail depending on how compass years convert to human years.
Of course if compass's have a gender is right to sell them at all and what are the moral implications of owning one?
I know I am feeling some emotional trauma. :banana
Maybe the navigation apps are the solution after all.Take teo asparin, tap into your GPS side, and navigate to a non gender specific rest room of your choosing :D

[camper10469]

hahahahaha and its a black male.

sheesh wallmark! too funny!

[Wyoming]

Male compass's point north.

Female compass's point south??

[rocketsocks]

Male compass's point north.

until ya hit about 50

[Just Bill]

until ya hit about 50
The pill for the needle is covered.
But not the pill for the garage.

[Dogwood]

I can imagine your confusion if it read: Gender: Bender. It's on the horizon coming to an insane asylum near you.

[rocketsocks]

I can imagine your confusion if it read: Gender: Bender. It's on the horizon coming to an insane asylum near you.declination dial

[JJ505]

Male compasses have no idea where they are going but pretend, and never ask for directions.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Aren't all compasses male? After all compasses spend their entire existence fixated on one thing.

[illabelle]

In the OP, maybe its the drawstring that makes it a male.
Females might have different colors there?


From the speculative replies, it seems like most of you are as puzzled as I am. Maybe I'll ask the cashier at Walmart. :D

Today I got around to buying a compass at Walmart. I selected one with an orange cord and carried it to the cashier. She was amused when I told her about the online "male" description, and assured me that my selection was female. I feel better now.