Compass rose two adjacent cardinal directions. For example, North-by-east (NbE) is one quarter wind from North towards East, Northeast-by-north (NEbN) is one quarter wind from Northeast toward North. Naming all 32 points on the rose is called "boxing the compass". The 32-point rose has the uncomfortable number of 11° between points, but is easily found by halving divisions and may have been easier for those not using a 360° circle. Using gradians, of which there are 400 in a circle, the sixteen-point rose will have twenty-five gradians per point. Linguistic anthropological studies have shown that most human communities have four points of
Geological compass iPhone using vector algebra. The accelerometers record vibration, so the iPhone needs be held still. Since very many measurements can be made in a few seconds, statistical analysis can be applied. High variance implies scattered data, so measurement should be continued until error diminishes to an acceptable level. It is important to consider such aspects in using a geological compass, for traditional compasses rely on inertia to remove error caused by operator movement. With traditional compasses there is no record of error caused by poor damping or operator movement. This limitation is removed by use of a digital compass, though