Actually it was her grandmother who told her. Which means, the story is also at least twice removed from the source. Also, to mention a few other variables: the story is dependent on more than one person's memory processes, assumes Louse Patton knew what he was talking about (would the ship really have been safe going the other way? would have stayed afloat longer sitting still), assumes that Robert Hitchins had been told which way to turn and made a mistake, and that Louse Patton remembers that too, and that the press is accurately reporting what they heard.
I wouldn't put much stock in it. --Mike On Thu, Sep 23, 2010 at 11:24 AM, Michael Britt <[email protected]> wrote: > > > You may have heard that there are new details regarding what caused the > Titanic to sink. It did indeed hit an iceberg, but here is what Louse > Patton (grand daughter of Charles Lightoller, Second Officer who survived > the Titanic) said her grandfather told her: > > "Instead of steering Titanic safely round to the left of the iceberg, once > it had been spotted dead ahead, the steersman, Robert Hitchins, had panicked > and turned it the wrong way.’ > Titanic was launched at a time when the world was moving from sailing ships > to steam ships. > My grandfather, like the other senior officers on Titanic, had started out > on sailing ships. And on sailing ships, they steered by what is known as > “Tiller Orders” which means that if you want to go one way, you push the > tiller the other way. > [So if you want to go left, you push right.] It sounds counter-intuitive > now, but that is what Tiller Orders were. > Whereas with “Rudder Orders’ which is what steam ships used, it is like > driving a car. > You steer the way you want to go. It gets more confusing because, even > though Titanic was a steam ship, > at that time on the North Atlantic they were still using Tiller Orders. > Therefore > Murdoch gave the command in Tiller Orders but Hitchins, in a panic, reverted > to the Rudder Orders he had been trained in." > A case of proactive interference (something you learned earlier interferes > with your ability to learn something new)? > Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/8016751/The-truth-about-the-sinking-of-the-Titanic.html > > Michael > > Michael Britt > [email protected] > http://www.ThePsychFiles.com > Twitter: mbritt > > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13541.42a7e8017ab9578358f118300f4720fb&n=T&l=tips&o=5106 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-5106-13541.42a7e8017ab9578358f118300f472...@fsulist.frostburg.edu --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=5109 or send a blank email to leave-5109-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
