Comment Re:Old saying (Score 3, Informative) 249
This is incorrect. (I assure you: I *use* this technology in depth. :) )
The confusion arises from thinking about just the spatial component of the problem you are trying to solve, and not also the temporal. A GPS receiver has a generally *inaccurate* internal clock (which means it can be cheap, one of the brilliant parts of the design, IMO). Think of the "pseudorange" from a single satellite as providing a single equation with *four* unknowns: the three dimensions of position, and the *error* in your internal clock. To solve for all four unknowns, four equations (and thus four measurements) are needed.