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Monday, March 21. 2016

Shackleton Be Damned


I first read about Shackleton long ago, and I've been a huge fan of his exploits.  He never actually accomplished the goals he set out for, but he was a master of revising goals and probably one of the best examples of great leadership I've ever read.  As an Anglophile, I've also been intrigued by the concept of the 'Magnificent Failure' which sometimes seems to be a uniquely British concept.


Certainly Shackleton deserves his name on a polar research ship.  But in a magnificent failure, the British botched the naming process for the ship.  Well, temporarily botched.  I happen to like "Boaty McBoatface" over "Shackleton" it just seems like a ship where stuff gets done.


Posted by Bulldog in Hot News & Misc. Short Subjects at 10:32 | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0)

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Shackleton and his exploits were amazing. I agree that the fact that he didn't meet his goals is beside the point. He personified perseverance.

It seems obvious that the name, Boaty McBoatface, is a prank but now NERC will have to retreat from their poll and name it themselves or choose the second place name. I wonder how many people are familiar with Shackleton or Attenborough. I suspect they may have a substantial population along the lines of those found in Watter's World, Jay Walking, and Jimmy Kimmel's interviews on the street. If so, that's sad.
#1 mudbug on 2016-03-21 10:58 (Reply)
One of the best made-for-TV movies I ever saw was 'Shackleton' with Kenneth Brannagh. Highly recommended.
#2 MissT on 2016-03-21 11:18 (Reply)
Considering what is regarded as "research" today, naming it after an actual scientist* or explorer would be an insult, if you really think about it.


Someone who proposes a hypothesis and doesn't fudge the data to meet it in order to secure funding.
#3 fjord on 2016-03-21 11:30 (Reply)
The British have a good enough sense of humor that the name "Boaty McBoatface" is most likely still in the running.

Personally, I thought the name was a bit silly at first, but now I think it's cheerful. Boaty McBoatface gets my vote!
#4 JM01 on 2016-03-21 12:36 (Reply)
We had seen God and his splendors
Seen the text nature renders.

We had reached the naked soul of man.

-Ernest Shackleton


You have reached the limits when thoughts like that cannot but occur. Hardly a man alive today, I reckon, that knows what that is anymore...
#5 Ten on 2016-03-21 16:00 (Reply)

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