In this Video I explain the Rule of Thumb Method for messuring Distance , I give you some Tips how to use it to be more precise , and how you can use it , using only one eye .... Hope it Helps
You forgot to mention "dead ground" that is ground you cannot see between you and the target point. Like folds in the terrain that dip away like blind summits etc, this loss of view makes long distances appear very much closer than they are. This is something we were taught to watch out for when doing fieldcraft training in the British Army. What looks like 2 or 3 km could end up being double that or more, and could also include difficult or impassable features like ravines, rivers (in military, mine fields) etc. Always be aware of possible dead ground between you and your target
In a sailing practice this method is well known, but there you must know the height of the object (like you said), which is taken for example from a map and this method is only used for a quick distance check. Thank goodness there are enthusiasts like you, who still want to share anything with others. Cheers!
If you only have one eye, use 2 fingers to touch the edge of your lips and use that distance. That's usually how far apart your eyes are. Stop laughing though or you'll get it wrong.
That's a really good workaround. So the corners of your mouth are approximately the same distance apart as your pupils? I never thought about that, but it is super close.
...OK. I've practised this method for a few days and just started first day after I've seen your first video. On the Scottish bowhunting championship 13-14th May. After all stuff I've ever seen, this method has best chances for me to adopt. However, like most of thinks it requires some practice judging distance which multiples times 10. For 3D unmarket targets the maximum distance is 60yrd so it has to be precise as much as.... For this purpose I've switched thomb on pen or arrow tip ( narrow point ) and started experimenting pointing on animal head - having rest of the body as distance reference?... Have to master it, but for sure gonna stuck wi5h this method. Thank you very much ! BTW I get silver😊
I thought your video was very useful, but the bit that sticks with me most is your kind way of having snacks and coffee. I especially loved it when you threw your trash in the bin. Best part. Thanks for sharing, kind brother.
It's good you made this second video. I happened to have one eye left due to motorcycle accident, not my fault though. Thanks for sharing... "It's a nice place you got there." God bless you!
I LOVE this kind of info. So simple, but so useful. Thanks for sharing it! If I had an injured eye I would simply move my head sideways to the approximate location of the bad eye.
Loved the 2 videos! My mother uses the thumb and extended pointing finger to 15 cm measurements. When sometimes forgot her tape, the fingers measurements worked well. 🤙
She was a dressmaker. Measuring busts, legs, anything for tailor dresses, skirts, blouses, trousers etc. When a neighbour or other person from town wanted a special garment made, they call her and she used to take the person's measurements by the way of knowing her own fingers extended, multiplying and drawing in a piece of paper. She is still alive but not doing anymore work on the Singer machine. Those times people treasure what was made by hands and effort. Nowadays, easy peasy to get so many things by shopping at major retailers at a low cost and easy discard them later. The world turn so materialistic and rapid consuming to dirt the earth more and more. Anyways, the way measurements worked. Thanks for bringing that up and I think this would be terrific for teaching children and youngsters to get them out of their phones and be more observant of the world around us. You will be brilliant and be known and recognised on TV! Keep going. I will pass this video whenever I can. Cheers!
Hi Albert and thank you for that video and the first one you did. You are a good teacher especially using English as a second language. Great! I’ll check out your other videos to. Thanks again 👍
Thanks for dropping me a message on your other video tagging this one. I can confirm that the three finger methed seems to be pretty good 👍 I tested a lamppost down the street and it was pretty much on point
That was kinda cool. It made me think an mess around a bit. Given that the white standard cupcake paper's height ( which you were holding at 08:55) is 1 1/4", around 3cm I was able to estimate your thumb's length . Should be around 5.5 cm. So again, given the fact that 3 times our thumb length (from top to bottom joint) gives us the length of our hand (from finger tip to bottom joint - wrist) which might be around 16.5 cm. So, as I checked, our arm (from the tip of out finger to the shoulder joint) is 4 times the length of our hand, so your arm should be around 66 cm. According the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci our own height can be measured like this: if we stretch out our arms 90° (Rio de Janeiro Jesus statue :P) and measure the length from the tip of our right middle finger to the tip of our left middle finger - it equals our height. So. If I multiplying your arms length by 2,5 (the 2 arms and the body widht, which is 1/2 of an arm length) I come to 165 cm. How far am I off? 😄
Thank you sir for posting this interesting information. I am going to put it to the test in the city where I can find out how close to reality your system gets.
I measure by eye. And usually I more or less right, especially if multiply by 10. But for a short distance a tape is a real help. It is more or less accurate and arithmetic is hardly involved. For your tips you need experience. With experience you don't need thumbs.
Great Tip with the Tape , but i dont have one that is that long and i think most people dont so i prefer Google or counting Steps . You can get very wrong with estimating by eye , Fog , Direct Sunlight and and and can misslead you , thats why the Thumb is really Handy . Cheers
This is really great ! Thanks for this ~ appreciate it so much ~ was aware some method was available but didn't know it until now ~ ha ha ha ha ha ~ really great!!!!!
ok i just tried this with a random thing on my desk. guessed the distance would be like 3 inches if my thumb was next to it, then times 10 = 30 inches. I measured the distance to my eye and it was 31 inches. holy moly
One eye: I have smaller hands, and holding up my index and pinky fingers straight up is about right. (I have both eyes, but was trying it one eyed). A single sighted individual can touch two fingers to your eyes to 'size' which fingers work (close your eyelids of course), and then extend your hand with those fingers in that position...
For now, I test it with paper and door and it sort of work. This method is easy and interesting, but if anything, I would like to know where you find it or is it mentioned in any old book
Your videos are so helpful for developing basik skills...thank you for your effort...you live in a beautiful place surrounded by big trees and a lot of birds...may I know where is it...?
@@yyyalbert Wow...heard a lot of stories about Bavaria...it's dense forests and folklores...wish to visit someday...🥰 love and respect from Bangladesh...
Hey !, that was a very usefull video but I have an other question though : how do you measure the length between you and a farther target since you are not standing at the perpendicular of the two points ? Love the vidéo.
If i understand your question right , the perpendicular goes from your Target to left or right ( depends on witch eye you use ) . The perpendicular is actually your guessing point .
@@yyyalbert It is true in the example of your video. Now, let me ask my question differently: I am walking on a land and sudently I see a village very far away in front of me, how can I guess the distance between this village and me ? Thank a lot for having answered me by the way. cheers from Paris
@@yyyalbert Yes I did watch the 1st video but may have missed the clue to my question. I will re-watch it again. I also will transfert your kind words about Paris to president MACRON 😉😉(lol). wich country are you from ?
I could be wrong but I think Astronomers do something like that in Astronomy to estimate distance to stars. Parallax measuring taken from Earth 6 months apart, so 2 different sides of the Sun, like a left eye and a right eye as you did to gauge the distance to a certain star. Thanks for taking the time.
Loved the video and it cleared up a lot of questions and gave me lots of ideas on how to practice estimating long distance. For the knuckleheads out there, meaning me, if you have the patience to do a short part 3 video, I'd love to watch how you go about estimating the distance to that distant hill and then check google earth to see how close you get. (but don't cheat by checking GE first) I guess you would use the electrical pole in your calculations since it's your closest reference point?
A nice follow up for part one though this does get a little more complicated. I wonder if, when the intention is to travel a long distance, would it be alright to take shorter measurements as you go along? In other words, break the long distance up into smaller sections and take a new measurement when you reach the near target, while still keeping your eye on the farther, final destination.
Yes , this is a straight line measurement , the roads or Trails that we might walk are way Longer because of the curves and up and downs . So i would even recomend to do it like you said .
Just found you on youtube. Awesome info. Will try this in feet as I am in America. If it don't I am learning meters. I use metric for liquids and weight as it is easy
Brilliant - like the best things, it is so simple - it's enough to give you a near-enough estimate when out and about. If you need more accuracy, use a map! But for most things - this is al you need - thank you so much! ^_^
This is such a cool trick. I learned it from your first video a few days ago, and in those few days I've been pracricing it everywhere-in my house, looking out my windows, while sitting at stoplights, et cetera. People probably think I'm giving them a wink and a thumbs-up and that thought always makes me laugh lol.
Thanks for that useful tip! Also, I am part Bavarian. We visited Bavaria on our honeymoon, and it was incredible. The art, architecture, and history were incomparable!
