The personage of Nathaniel Bowditch has been a role model for me since I read the book "Carry on, Mr. Bowditch." as a child. For those of you who have never heard of him I would suggest reading the aforementioned book or any edition of the American Practical Navigator which also contains a small biography of him. During his youth he was unable to continue school due to his family being impoverished and had to become indentured as a child of 12 years of age. During his time of apprenticeship at a ship chandlery, he used his off-hours to teach himself Latin, algebra, physics. Later on in life, he would teach members of the forecastle aboard ships on which he was supercargo such subjects as logarithms, spherical geometry, and navigation so as to help them to later advance out of the state of merely being part of a ship's crew. His basic thought in the matter was that anyone could learn if they just tried, and helped them to prove it so. Bowditch learned everything on his own. He had wanted to go to Harvard all of his life, but could never afford it so instead he taught himself everything he could find a text to read about. I think he was all the better for learning on his own though, as were many other people whose lives he affected by being an autodidact rather than just another college student.
05 Jan 2011, 4:47 am
