Shit That I Don't Get: The Direction Up
- Thread starter IGNOREME
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The concept of Up, just like left or right, is relative to the position of the person describing it. The shape of the earth is irrelevant.
Oh, and people knew the earth was round since the ancient Greeks. Eratosthenes actually gave an estimated measurement of the Earth's size. The whole flat earth belief is a myth from the Victorian era.
Oh, and people knew the earth was round since the ancient Greeks. Eratosthenes actually gave an estimated measurement of the Earth's size. The whole flat earth belief is a myth from the Victorian era.
if you prefer think of up as describing not a universal direction in 3d space but as elevation from you current position. in point of fact when pilots refer to up (elevation) they use the surface of the earth, usally at sea level, as zero point of their individual coordinate system... your welcome
well using that logic, north, south, east, west, back, forward, left, right, down, and what ever other direction in whatever dimension doesn't exist at all.
its all relative to ones position toward their current "ground" or "floor"
its all relative to ones position toward their current "ground" or "floor"
Think of it like this: Up is merely a perception of visual ques away from the ground one stands upon and tends to be around the location of what appears to be farther away from the ground relative to another object as a reference point.
Or, you can think of Up as something farther away from the Earth's core than another object.
Or, you can think of Up as something farther away from the Earth's core than another object.
The lateral (not literal) direction "up" refers to "against the flow". i.e. "upstream" = towards the source of the river; "up the road" = in the direction against traffic (often relative to the side of the road you are on), etc.
Up also refers to two-dimensional mapping, where (usually) the top of the map is North, therefore "up" = "in a Northerly direction" (e.g. I am going up.) or "Northward relative to our position" (e.g. It is located up that way).
Up also refers to two-dimensional mapping, where (usually) the top of the map is North, therefore "up" = "in a Northerly direction" (e.g. I am going up.) or "Northward relative to our position" (e.g. It is located up that way).
Up is a relative term for something that is on top of something else. This applies to many things.
The sky is above the surface of the Earth, so it is 'Up.'
Canada is on top of the US (When looking at a map), and therefor is 'up there.'
I think your problem is an attempt to apply 2 dimensional thought with 3 dimensional concepts.
The sky is above the surface of the Earth, so it is 'Up.'
Canada is on top of the US (When looking at a map), and therefor is 'up there.'
I think your problem is an attempt to apply 2 dimensional thought with 3 dimensional concepts.
So happens that up is everywhere from a point on the planet because the universe is down. In fact, even THAT up is down. You're travling DOWN to another planetary body SOMEWHERE.
Perpendicular to the normal plane going through the gravitational center of the earth!SideburnsPuppy said:
I can't believe I was the first one to make an Ender's Game reference. A book which makes excellent use of the inherent problems of operating in an environment with no readily defined reference point to determine direction. Another great example is in Apollo 13 where Jim Lovell points out that in space all that is needed for navigation is a fixed point in space. I.e. a reference point to determine direction. One that is determined all directions are determined relative to that.