More evidence that copy editors' headlines are not necessarily to be trusted for accuracy. Spot the difference:
Headline in Daily Telegraph, 23 September 2010: "Louise Patten, whose grandfather was the only surviving officer on the Titanic, reveals the truth about how it sank." In the article: "As the senior surviving officer, he [Louise Patten's grandfather] was asked at both official inquiries into the sinking… whether he had had any conversation after the collision with the Captain or the First Officer, William Murdoch, who had been in charge at the time." More important, as far as the claim is concerned I think Michael Smith is right to be cautious of taking third-hand evidence reported nearly a century after the event as the last word. I think we should wait to see informed responses before doing so. Postscript: Letter to Daily Telegraph, 24 September 2010: SIR – Lady Patten (report, September 22) claims that her grandfather, Second Officer Lightoller, revealed that Hitchens, the helmsman, steered “the wrong way” around the iceberg, because he confused “Tiller Orders” with “Rudder Orders”. All the evidence from the wreck and witnesses show that the Titanic steered two points to port, so Hitchens had done as ordered. The reason it turned so slowly was that First Officer Murdoch acted against regulations and reversed engines, which meant the rudder had no propulsion to respond to. Bruce Ismay never instructed the captain to go “slow ahead” – he arrived on the bridge when the engines were stopped. Lady Patten’s grandfather was a brave man but the way he loaded lifeboats, with several less than half full, was something he was rightly sheepish about, and would have been glad of a story to divert blame. Nicholas A. Bird, London W3 Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London [email protected] http://www.esterson.org --------------------------------------- From: Michael Smith <[email protected]> Subject: Re: I knew it! Psychology sunk the Titanic! Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2010 15:59:22 -0500 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=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=5115 or send a blank email to leave-5115-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
