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could take and work a lunar observation as well, for all practical purposes, as Sir Isaac Newton himself,<br />
were he alive." During the conversation, Dr. Bowditch sat "as modest as a maid, saying not a word, but<br />
holding his slate pencil in his mouth;" while another person remarked, that "there was more knowledge of<br />
navigation on board that ship than there ever was in all the vessels that have floated in Manilla Bay."<br />
INTJs can be apt tutors even for the less advanced students if the pupils are willing and the teacher<br />
is patient. And Bowditch loved teaching. His captain recalled, "He loved study himself, and he<br />
loved to see others study. He was always fond of teaching others. He would do any thing if any<br />
one would show a disposition to learn. Hence, all was harmony on board; all had a zeal for study;<br />
all were ambitious to learn." It wasn't complete harmony though: the captain once overheard two of<br />
his sailors arguing passionately about sines and cosines. Each one of Bowditch's students later<br />
attained the rank of first or second mate on their own ship. ("Pass me the grog, Bill, then help me<br />
calculate this hypotenuse.")<br />
The two keys to Bowditch's success were his friendly, kind-hearted nature and the effort he poured<br />
into boiling procedures down into the most practical and user-friendly method possible.<br />
The importance of his kind-hearted nature cannot be underestimated. A new cabin boy was added<br />
to the crew and promptly developed seasickness; Bowditch took care of him. One of Bowditch's<br />
shipmates recalled, "after alluding to his willingness to teach others, 'But the kindness and attention<br />
to the poor sea-sick cabin-boy are to this day...uppermost in my memory, and will last, when his<br />
learning is remembered no more.'" In this man's mind, Bowditch's kindness made more of an<br />
impact than his knowledge. For obvious reasons, people are more willing to learn from teachers<br />
who genuinely care about them. Such traits are also necessary to convince students that they can<br />
learn in the first place. Bowditch's shipmates spoke highly of his "uniform affability and kindness<br />
of manner...which were especially calculated to increase the self-respect of the sailor, and inspire<br />
him with a due sense of his own powers, and of the importance of his occupation." One normally<br />
thinks of such encouragement as the domain of the Idealist, but here we have an INTJ teaching<br />
uneducated men the extent of their own latent gifts. There are many people who mistakenly believe<br />
they are "dumb" and could never do (whatever). Bowditch's success would seem to demonstrate<br />
that the problem is often a matter of low self-perception rather than lack of natural ability.<br />
Not that Bowditch believed anyone could be a mathematician (in the full sense of the word) or that<br />
all men had equal intelligence. Rather, he believed that each person had a certain degree of<br />
intelligence that differed for each individual, and that only certain people had the ability to do the<br />
higher mathematics that he specialized in. It is recorded that, "He considered as wholly absurd a<br />
remark once made in his hearing, 'I have no doubt that any man could become a mathematician if<br />
he only had time!'"<br />
The other part of Bowditch's knack for teaching was the time and thought he put into simplifying<br />
explanations. It was said about a navigation book he wrote for seamen that, "In explanations of the<br />
rules, he was simple, so that the most ignorant could understand them." Besides this, he used his<br />
INTJ skills to come up with newer, simpler methods of doing navigational calculations. His<br />
intention was not to teach people math for the sake of math, but also to give the knowledge practical<br />
application.<br />
He spent a great deal of effort trying to find the right way to explain a concept. For instance, in a<br />
scientific debate with his mathematical peers, he wanted a way to show which side of the debate<br />
was correct. He spent days trying to come up with the right explanation: "Day after day, he<br />
returned to the task of finding out some "simple case," with which to prove to the satisfaction of<br />
others the truth of his own view. At length, when he did discover it, he jumped up in ecstasy, and,<br />
rubbing his hands and forehead with delight, exclaimed, "I have got it!" Bowditch knew the value
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