• Metostopholes@midwest.social
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    13 hours ago

    Relevant XKCD:

    Title text: Sure, we could stop dictators and pandemics, but we could also make the signs on every damn diagram make sense.

  • PrincessLeiasCat@sh.itjust.works
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    10 hours ago

    Unrelated, but what is the origin of this image? I feel like I’ve seen it often over the years and don’t know where it came from originally.

  • affiliate@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    this would also be society if counterclockwise and clockwise were swapped. it’s the universal way to talk about 2d rotations but pretty much nothing (except a clock) ends up turning clockwise. it didn’t have to be this way

    • grozzle@lemm.ee
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      2 hours ago

      that’s not arbitrary - the hour hand of a clock mimics the shadow of a sundial.

      it makes sense, in the northern hemisphere, where 90% of people live.

    • fishos@lemmy.world
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      8 hours ago

      Ummm… Have you ever used a screw? Bottle cap? “Right tighty, lefty loosey”? A car wheel when going forward? Literally 99% of things tighten clockwise.

      You’re the person people have to say “no, your other left” a lot to, aren’t ya?

      • affiliate@lemmy.world
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        2 hours ago

        i don’t ever use bottle caps or cars. but in the case of screws (and bottle caps), the choice to make them tighten clockwise and loosen counter clockwise is entirely arbitrary.

        my main point is that i think it’s confusing that clockwise is negatively oriented and counterclockwise is positively oriented (in the mathematical sense). and the mathematical definition of orientation is ultimately dependent on trigonometry. and it just feels wrong that clocks are negatively oriented.

        You’re the person people have to say “no, your other left” a lot to, aren’t ya?

        no.

      • SqueakyBeaver
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        6 hours ago

        Just wanna say, a car tire moves a different direction based on your perspective.

        If you’re looking at the driver side of the car, the tires move counterclockwise, whereas if you’re looking at the other side, the tires appear to rotate the other way.

        Perspective changes a lot of things, it’s pretty cool.

    • zqwzzle@lemmy.ca
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      11 hours ago

      You can get a clock that is set up counter clockwise to mess with people

  • not_woody_shaw@lemmy.world
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    11 hours ago

    I recognise the grandstand from the Marylebone Cricket Club, but they tore down the rest of the stadium. I guess that’s a good thing?