(IJCH) Who's Really "Upside Down"? - Perspectives and Perceptions

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IJCH - Inside JaiChai's Head (Meaning: My Warped, Personal Opinions and Musings)

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From the Author:

Salutations.

I am JaiChai.

And if I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you before, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance now.

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I invite you to interact with everyone, learn, and have as much fun as possible!

For my returning online friends, "It's always great to see you again!"

Richard Feynman once said something like, "Most people far below the equator probably don't realize that they're upside down."

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But are they really?

Where did we get the notion that North is North or Up is Up?

Most definitions for the word "Up" simply states that something is above something else; "towards the sky".

But are they really?

Scientists will tell you that the Earth's magnetic poles have switched positions many times in Earth's history.

See:

"Reversals: Magnetic Flip

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How often do reversals occur?

As a matter of geological record, the Earth's magnetic field has undergone numerous reversals of polarity. We can see this in the magnetic patterns found in volcanic rocks, especially those recovered from the ocean floors. In the last 10 million years, there have been, on average, 4 or 5 reversals per million years.

At other times in Earth's history, for example during the Cretaceous era, there have been much longer periods when no reversals occurred. Reversals are not predictable and are certainly not periodic in nature.

Hence we can only speak about the average reversal interval.

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But doesn't this all depend on one's point of view?

Reference Points and Vantage Points

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Reference points shift depending on vantage points.

Is "Up" really a closer relative position to the sky than to the ground on Earth and "Down" its inverse?

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If so, I wonder if an ant scurrying around on the bottom of a watermelon knows he is upside down?

What if "Up" meant the Earth's relative position to the Sun in our solar system?

How would we know if our Sun - compared to other Sun's in different solar systems - was up, down, or sideways?

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Can we deduce "Up" from the relation of our solar system to our galaxy?

Hmm...

It seems like we run into the same problem; that is, our solar system could be up or down in relation to other solar systems in other galaxies.

Ok, how about our galaxy's orientation to other galaxies in the universe?

And so on...

My point is this:

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The more we zoom in or zoom out (a la quantum physics or astrophysics), the more instances when our widely held "truths" may be seriously called into question.

And Who knows?

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Maybe our concepts of North/South or Up/Down will simply end up being how we process information; that is, our perception based on the precision of our measuring equipment?

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Parting Shot

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"Most inhabitants of the quantum realm probably think our world behaves in an insanely, bizarre manner!"

By JaiChai

Thanks for stopping by.

Truly hope to see you again!

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About the Author

Believing that school was too boring, he dropped out of High School early; only to earn an AA, BS and MBA in less than 4 years much later in life – while working full-time as a Navy/Marine Corps Medic.

In spite of a fear of heights and deep water, he performed high altitude, free-fall parachute jumps and hazardous diving ops in deep, open ocean water.

After 24 years of active duty, he retired in Asia.

Since then, he's been a full-time, single papa and actively pursuing his varied passions (Writing, Disruptive Technology, Computer Science and Cryptocurrency - plus more hobbies too boring or bizarre for most folk).

He lives on an island paradise with his teenage daughter, longtime girlfriend and three dogs.

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(More articles by JaiChai can be found on the Busy.org website. Use this link to visit Busy.org. Better yet, come join the Busy.org community!)

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"My mind was a terrible thing to waste..." - JaiChai

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