Points of the compass Points of the compass The points of the compass mark the divisions on a compass, which is primarily divided into the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. These points are further subdivided by the addition of the four intercardinal (or ordinal) directions—northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW)—to indicate the eight principal winds. In meteorological usage, further intermediate points between the cardinal and intercardinal directions, such as north-northeast (NNE) are added to give the sixteen points of a compass rose. At the most complete division are the full thirty-two points of the mariner's compass, which adds
How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? dancing on a needle's point occurs in an expository work by the English divine, William Sclater (1575-1626). In "An exposition with notes vpon the first Epistle to the Thessalonians" (1619), Sclater claimed that scholastic philosophers occupied themselves with such pointless questions as whether angels "did occupie a place; and so, whether many might be in one place at one time; and how many might sit on a Needles point; and six hundred such like needlesse points." Harrison proposes that the reason an English writer first introduced the "needle’s point" into a critique of medieval angelology is that it makes for