and Acrux, at a distance about 4.5 times the distance between them. Nainoa Thompson notes that at Hawaii's latitude, the distance between Gacrux and the southerly Acrux is equal to Acrux's altitude above the southern horizon. To steer the canoe in mid-ocean on a consistent course, the navigator selects a star and keeps the canoe pointed toward it. Should it become cloud-blocked, or rise too high in the sky, he selects another star but offsets his reference to remain true to the first, or steers at the same relative angle to the swell as when steering toward the star. Piailug was most likely autistic. John Elder Robison, a popular writer and analyst with Asperger's syndrome, writes that intense sensory sensitivity, attention to detail, hyperfocus, visual memory, and pattern recognition, all of which are autistic traits, are necessary to Pacific-style wayfinding. Additionally, Piailug had unusual communicative patterns which are typically associated with autism, such as monotonous speech and lack of eye contact. Notes References Further reading Provides extensive explication of Carolinian navigation. External links Mau Pialug collection 1932 births 2010 deaths People from Yap State Federated States of Micronesia sailors Hōkūlea Navigators Polynesian navigators Deaths from diabetes