Why a shore looks longer than a mountain from the sea
From a point at sea equidistant between beach and mountain, the beach appears far the longer
A schematic baseline with the letters c, a, b and the figures 10 and 10 accompanies an observation on apparent size. Leonardo notes that when he stands at a point at sea equally distant from the beach and the mountain, the stretch of beach appears much longer than the stretch of mountain. The caption sets a ship between the mountain and the shore.
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Beach appears longer than mountain at equal distance
From a spot at sea equally distant between the beach and the mountain, the beach shows itself much longer than the mountain. A baseline marked c, a, b with the figures 10 and 10 sets out the equal distances.
Apparent extent depends on the viewpoint
The observation turns on how extent appears to the eye: equal distances to beach and mountain yield unequal apparent lengths.