Comment by djtango

Well he is playing Viking. Sailing in that way was not only their living but it was also life or death for them.

They struck out into the ocean without a map of the world, let alone GPS and satellite phones. They didn't even have life jackets.

Without downplaying this researcher's earnest efforts, nothing we do today could come close to truly recreating what it was like back then for people to live and breathe the sea like your life depends on it and to reacquire whatever deep nuanced tacit wisdom they accumulated about how their ships handled in the waves.

Whenever I've watched interviews or studied people at the top of a craft, any craft, you'll be surprised at the amount of detail they are sensitive to. A recent thing that comes to mind is how much Chopin studied and analysed the anatomy of the hand to deepen his understanding of piano technique