The World is ROUND, right? So...

[Mig]

Ok, I was just thinking of some things:

1. Why do we call one side of the world (US, Canada, etc) "The West" and Asia "The East"? The earth is round... there is no defined east or west. If you go in one direction, you're heading east, and you can keep going til you've visited every place on earth but you're still heading east, so technically everywhere is east (and vice versa).

2. Why do we call it "The Middle East"? This is again contradictory because the earth is round but not only that - where exactly is the left, middle or right of east? Even if you were relating it to a map, shouldn't you just call it "The Middle"?

3. Why don't they have maps in China where their country is at the centre of the map and the US is "The East" and Europe/Africa is "The West"? Or do they!? :)

4. We think of North being up, South being down, etc. Why? The earth is spherical... we don't know which direction we're facing as we float through the universe. We might be upside down as we know it.

[Dascoo]

I guess the center of it all in the United Kingdom, so yeah. North America is closer if you go west, and Asia is closer if you go east.

North is up because N comes before S.

[yawaddah]

1. Greenwich divides the world to East and West? Or maybe the place where people lives?
2. It might just be brainwashing cos people usually connect east to bad.
3. Probably they have maps where China is in center.
4. Dunno. Its just more clearer that way.

[Tizmo]

actually. the earth is elliptical. it is shaped like an oval.

[Oshiri]

first big maps were drawn up with jerusalem at the center wernt they?

but yea, greenwich meridian. at least it does the timezones

[Alpha_Pasta]

Hey, nice post Mig. :)

4. Its just the name of the magnetic poles to the earth. I just you have to accept it.

[Dascoo]

Basically England is the center of civilization. Ish. They started the whole act civilizsed way.

[catman]

Ok, I was just thinking of some things:


4. We think of North being up, South being down, etc. Why? The earth is spherical... we don't know which direction we're facing as we float through the universe. We might be upside down as we know it.


there is no up or down in space

[Savage]

if we didnt have up or down wether or not it applied we wouldnt know how to get anywhere.

[Mig]

Ok so the point I'm making is why does Greenwich define where the centre is? There is no centre, it could be anywhere in the world. Obviously, the first thought is that it has something to do with back when the British were an empire and we explored and found the Americas, etc, and possibly back when we thought the world was flat and maps were made to reflect that. I guess it was up to whoever explored the whole globe first to make the first declaration of the Geography of the entire world.

there is no up or down in space
My point precisely - that's why I said we might be upside down "as we know it" - i.e. there is no defined sense of up or down in terms of the universe. So why do we call the north up and south down? Why is Australia at the bottom of the earth as we like to think? I know we need direction, for obvious reasons. We need to call something "up" and something "down" but why should Australia be "down"? When we discovered Australia in the first place, why did they think they were travelling down?

actually. the earth is elliptical. it is shaped like an oval.
I knew someone was going to say that. Technically, yes it's not a perfect sphere obviously but everyone knows what I mean :)

North is up because N comes before S.
Is that a scientific explanation? :)

[BritishBulldog1]

Ok so the point I'm making is why does Greenwich define where the centre is? There is no centre, it could be anywhere in the world. Obviously, the first thought is that it has something to do with back when the British were an empire and we explored and found the Americas, etc, and possibly back when we thought the world was flat and maps were made to reflect that. I guess it was up to whoever explored the whole globe first to make the first declaration of the Geography of the entire world.




There is actually a mathematical calculation that puts Greenwich at the heart of the time zone and from this is drawn East and West.

Why the middle east is called that, I don't know, as it's not exactly at a mid point. Or is it? I've never really thought to question it.

Having mathematically worked out that a magnet has two different poles, they named one north and the other south. When the Earth was discovered to also have a magnetic field, the fields pretty much corresponded to that of a magnet. So that is how they chose which one to be north and the other south.

Good Questions Mig.

BB1

[MidnightRider]

If you look at a map made in the US, you will see US in the prominat middle. If you look at one made in China, then you will find China in the middle of the map. Its a matter of perspective i guess. One tends to center their knowlage around what they know the most about. This would be no diff for a map maker.

Its a funny thing how humankind has to label and name and put everything in a neat lil caterory. This is west, this is east, this is the midwest. Mostly i think the terms western world and eastern world derive from the facts that most of recorded human history takes place in the eastern countries. Africa, Euroupe and Asia. We later progressed west across the Atlantic giveing North and South America the title western world, so naturaly Asia and Euroupe and Africa would be labeled Eastern World.

What trips me up is this. If i sail from the west coast of North America (the western world), and reach Asia (the eastern world) am i now in the west eastern world? How does one travel west to reach east? What if i went around the world twice counterclock, would i then have traveled west to reach east twice?

See how our wonderful labels and slots for everything fall apart when you look at them in a particular light. Our theories on many things are based on some very general assumed beleifes. Spell assume. ass/u/me it makes an ass out of u and me.

[Oshiri]

also, the solar system is of a particular alignment; using our most prominent extra-terrestrial landmarks (the sun & other planets), we have our own special way up and down..

i suppose it's like time.. just a concept really.

[relax 1.0]

Why is The West Bank called the west bank when its on the east?!?!?!?!!?!

[Mig]

What trips me up is this. If i sail from the west coast of North America (the western world), and reach Asia (the eastern world) am i now in the west eastern world? How does one travel west to reach east? What if i went around the world twice counterclock, would i then have traveled west to reach east twice?
See, doesn't make sense. It's like playing PacMan, where you walk out through a door on the left of the screen and you come out on the right. That's called screen wrap, and it doesn't make any MF sense in the real world.

[BritishBulldog1]

Why is The West Bank called the west bank when its on the east?!?!?!?!!?!

That depends on where you are situated and who named it. It IS west of somewhere, but I'm too lazy to look it up lol.

BB1

[Col.Darby]

One word: Maps

[Savage]

like someone else said its just like time it is only a concept. its not really there but we just make it up