Quicksilver Reading CompanionAboard the Minerva in Cape Cod Bay in November 1713, Daniel Waterhouse recovers from surgery while the ship attempts to outrun a pirate vessel.
“It’s all in the arithmetic—the same sort of arithmetic that Flamsteed, the Astronomer Royal” — John Flamsteed was the first Astronomer Royal of England, known for his meticulous star catalogs and his professional rivalry with Isaac Newton.
“at the Observatory in Greenwich” — The Royal Observatory, Greenwich was commissioned in 1675 by King Charles II and played a major role in the history of astronomy and navigation.
“jack ketch the shabby” — From the original wiki (sheik): “Jack Ketch is the default nickname for all English executioners. The name in this context is likely a slight anachronism, as the original namesake Jack Ketch isn’t recorded in the position until 1678, remaining the Public Hangman of London until 1686. He remains renowned in the annals of capital punishment for being profoundly bad at his profession. Sir Charles Lyttelton reports that in the (ultimately successful) attempt to behead Lord William Russell, Ketch “gave him 3 blows, besides sawing wth ye ax, before he cut his head of.”
“turning Dappa’s steady observations into sines and cosines, conic sections and fluxions.” — Fluxions was Newton’s specific term and notation for what is now known as differential calculus.
“Teach has too much intelligence for that, and so breaks the other way” — Edward Teach (Blackbeard) was the notorious pirate who operated in the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain’s North American colonies.
“The men who’ve been manning the guns are told to make like Cincinnatus” — Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was a Roman statesman who became a legendary symbol of civic virtue by resigning his near-absolute power immediately after a crisis to return to his farm.
“swinging wide the studdingsail booms” — Studdingsails were extra sails used in light winds to extend the width of the square sails, significantly increasing a ship’s speed when sailing downwind.
“she begins the passage to the Old World sailing large before a quartering wind” — Sailing Large is a nautical term for sailing with the wind blowing from behind the widest part of the ship, allowing for maximum speed and efficiency.
“imp of the perverse” — Stephenson’s annotation: “Edgar Allen Poe wrote a piece called the Imp of the Perverse in the 19th Century, and so to put the phrase in Bob’s (or Jack’s) mouth in 1683 is likely an anachronism.”
“Qwghlm” — Stephenson’s annotation: “Almost all readers are content to interpret Qwghlm as a wholly fictitious and fanciful invention, which is correct… It is a pair of islands situated off the northwestern coast of Britain.”
“elaborate lace undergarments” — A community member notes that Eliza’s description of life in the seraglio is reminiscent of a scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail regarding the women of Castle Anthrax.
Original annotations by: sheik, stephenson, turyn