--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The zero-degree parallel of latitude is…" description: "\"“The zero-degree parallel of latitude is fixed by the laws of nature, while the zero-degree meridian of longitude shifts like the sands of time.”\" — Da..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/dava-sobel-29490_latitude_the-zero-degree-parallel-of-latitude-is_2688711.jpg" --- # The zero-degree parallel of latitude is fixed by the laws… ![“The zero-degree parallel of latitude is fixed by the laws of nature, while the zero-degree meridian of longitude shifts like the sands of time.” quote by Dava Sobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/dava-sobel-29490_latitude_the-zero-degree-parallel-of-latitude-is_2688711.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/dava-sobel-29490_latitude_the-zero-degree-parallel-of-latitude-is_2688711.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/dava-sobel-29490_latitude_the-zero-degree-parallel-of-latitude-is_2688711.jpg) > ““The zero-degree parallel of latitude is fixed by the laws of nature, while the zero-degree meridian of longitude shifts like the sands of time.”” [Dava Sobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dava-sobel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Latitude is fixed by nature; longitude shifts like time, showing human constructs vs. natural constants. **In simple terms:** Nature fixed, human measures change. Key Takeaway Recognize what is immutable versus mutable. Themes science philosophy relativity Mood thought‑provoking educational Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - navigation - historical timelines - personal values Key Concepts geography temporal perception Questions to Reflect On - Which “longitude” in your life is shifting? - What “latitude” anchors you? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on change can cause instability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Longitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/longitude/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Sands of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sands-of-time/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [“There isn’t a parallel of latitude but thinks it would have been the equator if it had had its rights.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-isn-t-a-parallel-of-latitude-but-thinks-it-would-have-been-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The universe expects every man to do his duty in his parallel of latitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-universe-expects-every-man-to-do-his-duty-in-his-parallel-of/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Having established itself securely on shipboard, the chronometer was soon taken for granted, like any other essential thing, and the whole question of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dava-sobel/having-established-itself-securely-on-shipboard-the-chronometer-was/) [Dava Sobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dava-sobel/) > [“The British Parliament, in its famed Longitude Act of 1714, set the highest bounty of all, naming a prize equal to a king’s ransom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dava-sobel/the-british-parliament-in-its-famed-longitude-act-of-1714-set-the/) [Dava Sobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dava-sobel/) > [“In the wake of the Longitude Act, the concept of “discovering the longitude” became a synonym for attempting the impossible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dava-sobel/in-the-wake-of-the-longitude-act-the-concept-of-discovering-the/) [Dava Sobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dava-sobel/) > [“the beaches. 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You've got to understand their longitude, and how much latitude you can take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/women-are-a-map-avik-you-ve-got-to-understand-their-longitude-and-how/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) ## More by Dava Sobel > [ “\[John\] Harrison \[could not\] express himself clearly in writing… No matter how brilliantly ideas formed in his mind, or crystallized in his clockworks, his… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dava-sobel/john-harrison-could-not-express-himself-clearly-in-writing-no-matter/) [Dava Sobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dava-sobel/) > [“With his marine clocks, John Harrison tested the waters of space-time. 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The motions of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dava-sobel/in-1616-a-pope-and-a-cardinal-inquisitor-reprimanded-galileo-warning/) [Dava Sobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dava-sobel/) > [“The British Parliament, in its famed Longitude Act of 1714, set the highest bounty of all, naming a prize equal to a king’s ransom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dava-sobel/the-british-parliament-in-its-famed-longitude-act-of-1714-set-the/) [Dava Sobel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dava-sobel/) [Explore all 18 Dava Sobel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dava-sobel/) ## More Latitude quotes > [Below the 40th latitude there is no law; below the 50th no god; below the 60th no common sense and below the 70th no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley/below-the-40th-latitude-there-is-no-law-below-the-50th-no-god-below/) [Kim Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley/) > [Women, are a map, Avik. You've got to understand their longitude, and how much latitude you can take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-russell/women-are-a-map-avik-you-ve-got-to-understand-their-longitude-and-how/) [Walter Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-russell/) > [While the principles of our Constitution give just latitude to inquiry, every citizen faithful to it will deem embodied expressions of discontent and open…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/while-the-principles-of-our-constitution-give-just-latitude-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [The Earth's population will be culled from today's 6.6 billion to as few as 500 million, with most of the survivors living in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lovelock/the-earth-s-population-will-be-culled-from-today-s-6-6-billion-to-as/) [James Lovelock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lovelock/) > [A bad guy in a movie has a lot of latitude for acting. He can walk up the wall, crawl across the ceiling, go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/a-bad-guy-in-a-movie-has-a-lot-of-latitude-for-acting-he-can-walk-up/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [In 1491 the Inka ruled the greatest empire on earth. Bigger than Ming Dynasty China, bigger than Ivan the Great’s expanding Russia, bigger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-c-mann/in-1491-the-inka-ruled-the-greatest-empire-on-earth-bigger-than-ming/) [Charles C. Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-c-mann/) > [Handsome widows, after a twelve-month, enjoy a latitude and longitude without limit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/handsome-widows-after-a-twelve-month-enjoy-a-latitude-and-longitude/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Cable had a latitude to move which created less censorship and bestowed upon the artists, the writers and the creators, more liberty to create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-gillies/cable-had-a-latitude-to-move-which-created-less-censorship-and/) [Daniel Gillies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gillies/) > [This is a perverse thing, personally, but I would rather be in the cycle where people are underestimating us. It gives us latitude to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zuckerberg/this-is-a-perverse-thing-personally-but-i-would-rather-be-in-the/) [Mark Zuckerberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zuckerberg/) > [The word 'pure' has never revealed an intelligent meaning to me. I can only use the word to quench an optical thirst for purity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-word-pure-has-never-revealed-an-intelligent-meaning-to-me-i-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Procedure is the bone structure of a democratic society. Our scheme of law affords great latitude for dissent and opposition. It compels wide tolerance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abe-fortas/procedure-is-the-bone-structure-of-a-democratic-society-our-scheme-of/) [Abe Fortas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abe-fortas/) > [Scientists say every action initiates an equal and opposite reaction. I say that's just the start. I say every action initiates a most unequal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-hopkins/scientists-say-every-action-initiates-an-equal-and-opposite-reaction/) [Ellen Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-hopkins/) > [I'm not a fan of 3D. But I am a huge fan of digital imagery. Because it allows a filmmaker much more latitude to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-friedkin/i-m-not-a-fan-of-3d-but-i-am-a-huge-fan-of-digital-imagery-because-it/) [William Friedkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-friedkin/) > [ My new city \[Seattle\] and its hinterland felt deceptively homely. Their similar latitude gave them the angular light and lingering evenings I was used… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-raban/my-new-city-seattle-and-its-hinterland-felt-deceptively-homely-their/) [Jonathan Raban](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-raban/) > [The history of religions, of which Christianity is a transcendent element, awaits the deepest study. It requires Bibles to free from Bibles. Comparative theology…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/the-history-of-religions-of-which-christianity-is-a-transcendent/) [Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/) Browse all 103 Latitude quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The zero-degree parallel of latitude is fixed by the laws of nature, while the zero-degree meridian of longitude shifts like the sands of time.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dava Sobel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dava-sobel/the-zero-degree-parallel-of-latitude-is-fixed-by-the-laws-of-nature/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Latitude" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dava-sobel/the-zero-degree-parallel-of-latitude-is-fixed-by-the-laws-of-nature/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/dava-sobel-29490_latitude_the-zero-degree-parallel-of-latitude-is_2688711.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/dava-sobel-29490_latitude_the-zero-degree-parallel-of-latitude-is_2688711.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c3b/dava-sobel-29490_latitude_the-zero-degree-parallel-of-latitude-is_2688711.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The zero-degree parallel of latitude is fixed by the laws of nature, while the zero-degree meridian of…” — Dava Sobel", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Dava Sobel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dava-sobel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The zero-degree parallel of latitude is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dava-sobel/the-zero-degree-parallel-of-latitude-is-fixed-by-the-laws-of-nature/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dava-sobel/the-zero-degree-parallel-of-latitude-is-fixed-by-the-laws-of-nature/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```