501–510 of 540 posts
https://gist.github.com/HenkPoley/8fa7a4a8e25f106585584463c1...
Sadly mostly north oriented.
Did some more vibe coding: https://gist.github.com/HenkPoley/0a0eac0e81c53145dec8c19568...
The moralizing that always accompanies (not) upside down maps is so tedious. It's a genuinely interesting example of how something can look so wrong and yet not be wrong at all. To try to extend that "wrong" feeling to some kind of moral failure on the viewers part is just silly. You (or society) are not a bad or prejudiced person for thinking this way, it's just that nearly all maps produced have chosen a different…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Strange. “Upper Egypt” is the southern part of Egypt and “Lower Egypt” is the northern part. The source of the Nile (to the south of Egypt) was the key reference point to ancient Egyptians. I searched, and Ptolemy was a Greek who lived in Egypt, not an ethnic Egyptian.
Upper is literally higher up with respect to distance from the Earth’s centre of gravity. When I was 8 or 9 in school we studied Egypt and I had to know and no one could answer. Might have been one of the first things I used Google for.
> Psychologically, we tend to view things nearer the top as ‘good’ and those lower as ‘bad.’ This, of course, is the point of the article. It was so predictable that it made me wonder: who is telling me that top is good and lower is bad? The articles themselves.
The moralizing that always accompanies (not) upside down maps is so tedious. It's a genuinely interesting example of how something can look so wrong and yet not be wrong at all. To try to extend that "wrong" feeling to some kind of moral failure on the viewers part is just silly. You (or society) are not a bad or prejudiced person for thinking this way, it's just that nearly all maps produced have chosen a different…
Ask 100 random people in the US whether they think "top" is "better associated" with "good" and "down" is "better associated" with "bad", or the other way round. You can even use arrows and randomize the way you ask the question, if you want. If you come up with a majority of people telling you "down" is "better associated" with "good", I'll live stream myself on Twitch eating the pair of socks I'm currently wearing.…
It is a considerably stronger yet less-supported statement that these biases fundamentally corrupt your thinking: that you look at Australia and can't help yourself but think it's 10% worse than Greenland.
It is an even stronger and even less-supported statement the world is going to be better off if we stop using certain tainted words or drawing maps in a certain way - i.e., that these biases hurt people and can be excised with one simple linguistic or cartographic trick.
It's a lot easier to interpret these debates as the manifestation of a bad personality trait: the desire to get sanctimonious about how other people are living their lives.
In space, there is no up or down, right? So, whether the map is upside down or not should be viewer relative? Most languages read left to right, top the bottom, so it would make since the relatively important stuff to you be at the top.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'm somewhat okay with "developing" because the term is easier to understand: some countries are less developed than others. Plus the terms are fluid. If a country becomes developed enough then they switch labels. "Developing" what, and to what end? The term itself sounds absolute, where in fact it implies a relative order, but doesn't give away what (arbitrary) properties you include in the comparison. Take Gross…
I think migration patterns by people are a good indication of what people on the ground see as superior and inferior choices. Slow and steady with a plan like Singapore or Taiwan wins the race. Shortcuts, seeking aid from China or the IMF only benefits the local caudilloes.
I'd perhaps call that cynicism.
Why are the tabs and URL on my browser on top while the OS bar is on the bottom? It looks like it would work if we flipped it over, in fact, on mobile, it would work better, and it is an option you can set!
Another one: US style power outlets, the one with the ground plug. We always tend to make it look like a little face, with the ground plug at the bottom. Now what if you flip it... it is actually better (i.e. safer)!
And clocks. Why is 12 on top? And why do locks have the pins on top in some parts of the world and on the bottom elsewhere? And numeric keypads, why is "1" on top or on the bottom depending on the situation?. Why do trapezoidal connectors (ex: HDMI) have the long side on top?
Turning things upside down is not just for maps, sometimes if may even help give some bit of insight.