Because clocks are intuitive, the earth’s rotation is not. We’ve agreed long ago that clocks spin to the right, and that convention has continued to this day. Analog clocks are now a regular occurrence everywhere in modern society. Up is 12, down is 6, Clock spins to the right. Ezpz.
The earth’s rotation, while a constant, isn’t easy to intuit. Depending on your frame of reference the earth spins to the right, to the left, ahead of you or behind you, or some combination of these local cardinal directions. In addition, there is no objective “up” in space. The most common map projections only orient north as “up” because of eurocentric bias when choosing such an orientation.
So nah, earthwise makes no sense for angular velocity unless you also want to mandate north = up
So we agree clocks have to spin one way because that’s how its is but we can’t agree the earth spins one way because people are dumb? The earth spins in a leftwards direction as its spins around our star. That’s facts.
If you just want to call people dumb you are allowed to do that.
Because in everyday life we can see the rotation of the clock hands but not the rotation of the earth.
You don’t see the sun move in the sky? Or do you think the sun is actually the one moving?
So you say I need to know my orientation and position on earth and their orientation and position on earth just to tell someone in which direction I need to rotate something?
The earth spins on a leftward direction on the same plane it orbits the sun. Is that so hard to grasp? More hard than to teach everyone that clocks HAVE to spin in one direction?
Because who the hell knows by heart which way the earth turns
I mean it only took me like 3 weeks of hard studying to remember it so it wasn’t that bad
Why would I need to appease some rando who hates standard analog clocks and do like 3 weeks of hard studying just to dissociate rotation vectors from time measuring tools?
I mean, anyone who hikes often or likes astronomy. It’s kind of important for navigation and orientation to know where the sun will rise and set.
Are you telling me you don’t ever imagine yourself on a huge ball spinning towards the sun in the morning?
Well, for starters, that depends on which way you’re looking at the earth.
OK well then by that logic it depends on which way your looking as a clock. A see-through clock would cause chaos by your logic.
It probably would actually. Imagine if Big Ben was a transparent circle with clock hands at the top.
The terms for “clockwise” and “Counterclockwise” originated long before clocks. Clockwise was originally called “Sunwise” and followed the movement of the shadow around a sundial.
Counterclockwise was “widdershins”, from a Middle Low German phrase meaning “against the way.”
We don’t use “earthwise” because from our perspective, the earth doesn’t rotate.
You know after thinking about this for a while, it actually just makes me want to call it earthwise more.
And maybe I just have a diffent perspective, but I look up a lot and notice the stars moving while out on walk woth my dogs. Not in real time for anyone trying to start lol. But It’s continously in my mind that we’re on a spinning rock. And I’ve played enough NMS to realize that a planet can take perspective from space, but compasses go north and south. And if we’re going to debate on which way I would consider which to be right or wrong its moot, because whatever clockwise is earthwise will be opposite. So I just don’t get how I’m so wrong.
The word you want is “widdershins”.
