Shit That I Don't Get: The Direction Up

[Bon_Clay]

All directions in space are relative to some object. As we live on Earth we use that for reference, and gravity influences how we navigate. Up is against gravity, down it with it.

If you leave Earth then you either have no directions, or still give them in relation to Earth still or maybe a space ship you're using. If you go to another planet you can use them the same way there.

They're just words, they don't have any innate truth to them.

 

[IGNOREME]

Wha...

I'm so confused that I'm willing to never say "up" again just to spare myself the effort of trying to comprehend what the fuck you just wrote.

Spare yourself the trouble. I guess I was acting like a child somewhat. I guess to shorten it would have be, "If up in the US is one way, does that mean that up in China is down? I don't get it." I was just acting childlike, I'm sorry.

 

[shedra]

Down is in the direction of the pull of gravity.
Up is the opposite of the pull of gravity.

This being the case, would you consider moving away from the Sun "up?"
To expand on that, if we leave the Earths gravity going up (Get far enough away to make it negligible I don't think gravity actually has a defined edge.) then move toward the Sun, are we then moving down?

If you are close enough to the sun to feel the force of gravity, such that your mind processes the forces, and your feet are on the floor, you're probably dead, so its irrelevant. But if you had magic boots that protected you while that close to the sun, then moving away from the sun would be up.

Otherwise, you're in microgravity, so theres no up.

So you define up as the sensation of moving away from the force of gravity.
In orbit then, there is no up even though you are influenced by Earth's gravity.

 

[Liudeius]

All directions and movement are relevant to a certain point.

Think about it. The universe is infinite (or essentially so), therefore you can never get closer to the edge of the universe. Does that mean you aren't moving?
No, because with respect to the ground you are moving

You are also not actually going 60 miles/hr while driving a car since the Earth is rotating and orbiting.

 

[Fwee]

Up is short for "Away from the center of the earth."
Just to help avoid confusion.

 

[cookyy2k]

Down is in the direction of the pull of gravity.
Up is the opposite of the pull of gravity.

This being the case, would you consider moving away from the Sun "up?"
To expand on that, if we leave the Earths gravity going up (Get far enough away to make it negligible I don't think gravity actually has a defined edge.) then move toward the Sun, are we then moving down?

Their is no definate gravitational boundary where the force is equal to zero as it scales as 1/(r^2). So f=0 at r=infinate. However we use the concept of a sphere of influence, the sphere in which that body is the greatest contributing factor to gravitational forces. In the case of the Earth the sphere of influence has radius of about 925,000km Once outside this you are within the sun's sphere of influence, in which the Earth exists as an orbiting body. Hope that clears this up a little.

Also, on topic, Up is defined by humans, its not something that inhearently exists in the system. It's a concept we have come up with to describe a direction and as such an idea of up is towards the sky/away from the ground and has no real meaning once in space.

 

[maddness666]

Up is away from the 'floor' as determined by some previous social convention.

 

[The Random One]

I KNOW, RIGHT?

People always think I'm playing dumb when I can't figure out what way the mean when they say 'up', but unless it's on top of a fucking mountain it's not up, dammit.

 

[Vainglory]

I guess you could say that before, when the earth was considered flat, the direction up was much like the direction north, an absolute. Now it's become like the direction left. That is pretty interesting.

 

[kurupt87]

Hmm... Apparently I'm an idiot. I am sorry.

Heh, don't be sorry. I'm willing to bet you are American and quite young. American because you're fitting in other places on the planet compared to you rather than it being a normal thing. Young because, well, you seem sincere.

A quick cyber stalk later and your profile says you're American at least, so 50%.

Anyway, what I really want to say is that you're interested in thinking (about random stuff), that's cool. Welcome to the club. Keep doing it, it's fun and it'll get you far.


Also, two first posts in this thread? @Astro-Boy and @MilitaryAviation1, I've never really been a stickler for social etiquette so I might not be the best person to welcome you into the fold but, I'll give it a go.

If I remember rightly it was something like; definitely go into the R&P basement and ignore the mods sticky post on the rules. Also, don't grab a pony avatar or you'll be added to my 97 strong ignore list.

...

That last might have been a personal addition but overall it was something like that, anyway; toodles.

 

[zfactor]

Unless you live in the early 1400's (in which case how do you even have a computer let alone internet) it's universally agreed upon that the earth is round. This would mean that the direction up (not up as in forward, up as in "Up in the sky")would be obsolete. Why? Because, as I have established earlier the earth is round, therefore when pointing into the sky and saying that it is "Up" in China, it could point one way while in another country it would be in a completely different direction. So basically if you say "Up" it could very well be down in a different country. So I guess what I don't get is why up is still used in the modern day.

Do you know why? Do you think I'm a complete idiot for not getting this? Or do you think I have something going here? What do you think?

When people say "up" they actually mean "the direction radially away from the center of the earth." However, that takes too long to say, so we just say "up." A perfectly good question, I actually find it fun to make complex definititions for seemingly simple concepts. Like up...

 

[Sporky111]

It's relative, just like left and right. "Your right" and "my right" are different, but it's not obsolete because it's still useful. "Up" is generally agreed upon to be the direction away from the earth, above your head. Even if it's not the same direction for everyone, they understand what you mean. Things don't have to be precise as long as you're understood.

 

[Solon_Mega]

That depends on the meaning you imply on "UP". If by it you mean a vector pointing from you index finger all the way to infinity, then yes "UP" is not an absolute measurement. But if you think "UP" as meaning "Away from earth (or to be more general, Away from your plane of perspective)" as a line that begins in the center of the planet, crosses your finger towards infinity, then it is a common sense, here, in China, or elsewhere in the universe.

 

[SideburnsPuppy]

"Up" is away from the centre of the earth. It is the opposite direction that gravity pulls us. You're welcome.

 

[Vault boy Eddie]

I'm omniscient, directions mean nothing to me, i'm at my house and next to all of you right now, I can see your other tabs you freaking pervs.

 

[spinFX]

I'm sorry, but reading the title, I was reminded of this

Spoiler

"Shit that I don't get: the direction up" sounds like something ICP would say

OT: Because you are pointing the the oppsite direction from which things are pulled. That is why we consider it up. You are overthinking it.

I've never actually heard the song, but as with most of the interwebs I knew the lyric "fuckin' magnets how do they work?". What a terrible song... DERP I DON'T UNDERSTAND SOMETHING, MUST BE MIRACLE.

Sorry to go off topic.

I think this thread was over with this post:

Down is in the direction of the pull of gravity.
Up is the opposite of the pull of gravity.

It may point at utterly different directions as a three-dimensional representation of the planet, but where ever you are on the globe, "up" feels exactly the same to your brain, which has a series of evolved mechanisms to keep your body righted and able to be piloted forward.

In microgravity, there is no longer an up, and a lot of people puke as a result.

 

[Vykrel]

"Up" is away from the centre of the earth. It is the opposite direction that gravity pulls us. You're welcome.

damn u, inb4

what he said.

 

[Signa]

"Up" is a relative concept. It has no intrinsic value.

 

[thiosk]

So you define up as the sensation of moving away from the force of gravity.
In orbit then, there is no up even though you are influenced by Earth's gravity.

Thats why its called microgravity. Its functionally zero, even though its technically there.

 

[Toaster Hunter]

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.