The sextant and the brief

A sextant does not write your position. You do, after you admit the index error. A research brief is the same instrument: you bring the horizon (what you can actually see), the body (the source), and the error you will not hide.

Sight reduction, not slide decks

The brief Meridian issues is a cartouche plus a plate. It is not twelve slides of gradient. It answers:

• Where we think we are.
• How we took the sight.
• What the error might be.
• Who will answer for it.

If your current brief cannot survive those four lines, you do not have a brief. You have a mood board.

Index error

Every crew has one: a preferred vendor, a founder’s anecdote, a dataset that always wins. Write it in the margin. The plate gets more accurate, not less. Hiding the error is how you run aground on a clear day.

After the sight

Stow the sextant. Do not keep sighting until the number is prettier. Issue, or wait for a new body. Those are the only two honest moves.