The chronological argument doesn't convince me that modern crop circlers disdain GPS. The circles have grown more complicated haven't they?
I'll certainly repsect the opinion of anyone who has actually tried to lay out a set of reference points with a rope and done the same job with GPS. ( I agree that it's easier to tramp down a circular arc with a board anchored by a rope to a stake than it is to read a GPS while you walk with a board - I'm talking about setting reference points like the center of the circles and points marking where a circular arc begins and ends.)
The fact the geometric constructions can be done with a rope doesn't convince me that this is a simpler way to do things than with GPS. I've done work with 200 ft tapes and it isn't simple to maneuver these around in the daytime. How long are the crop circlers ropes?
A interesting question is whether the rope must be help above the crop or whether you can let it drag on the ground as you maneuver it.
In addition to talking about ropes, I would like to hear someone explain why they think using GPS would be complicated. Suppose you have a reference point that is 250 ft from a known point A and 300 ft from a known point B. Which is going to be simpler: Have one person walk to that point with a GPS meter? Or have four people mainpulate two ropes and have the people with the free ends of the rope pull the ropes taut while they walk toward each other?
A still unanswered question (for me) is whether the complicated crop circles of Britain are always done in low crops. When I think of USA crops, I think of a cornfield. You can get lost in a cornfield in the middle of the day. How would you use a rope in such a field? Hold it up with poles?
No one has made a cultural/educational argument agaist GPS. To me, that argument would be more plausible than saying GPS is too complicated. You could argue that ropes are traditional or that the people who supervise crop circle constructions are unfamiliar with new fangled technology.
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