1115: Sky - Revision history

1234231587678: rewording is fun! yay!

2025-12-21T02:40:53Z

rewording is fun! yay!

Pressforaction at 07:48, 30 March 2023

2023-03-30T07:48:54Z

Davidy22: Reverted edits by Explain xkcd server admin (talk) to last revision by Theusaf

2022-05-21T02:57:14Z

Reverted edits by Explain xkcd server admin (talk) to last revision by Theusaf

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Explain xkcd server admin at 21:27, 20 May 2022

2022-05-20T21:27:30Z

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Theusaf: Reverted edits by 👖🔥 (talk) to last revision by Jacky720

2022-05-11T18:46:19Z

Reverted edits by 👖🔥 (talk) to last revision by Jacky720

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👖🔥 at 17:33, 11 May 2022

2022-05-11T17:33:24Z

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Jacky720: rv

2022-05-04T23:47:26Z

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Ex Kay Cee Dee at 23:47, 4 May 2022

2022-05-04T23:47:20Z

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Jacky720: rv

2022-05-04T21:32:33Z

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Ex Kay Cee Dee at 21:32, 4 May 2022

2022-05-04T21:32:20Z

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@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 ==Explanation==
-This comic is about the fact that much of the way we see the world is relative. Which way is left or right, for example, depends on the direction one is facing, so different people can give different answers and both be correct. (Contrast this to absolute directions, such as East and West, which do not change based on one's orientation.)
+This comic is about the fact that much of the way we see the world is relative. Which way is left or right, for example, depends on the direction one is facing, so different people can give different answers and both be correct. However, absolute directions, such as east and west, do not change based on one's orientation.
-Which way is 'down' is a little more complicated, as both the absolute and relative direction use the same word (owing to the two directions usually being the same on Earth): it can be defined as 'whichever way gravity goes / the direction things fall', but it can also be defined as 'the direction one's feet are'. In space particularly, the latter definition tends to be used as the former is rather hard to deduce. It is possible, though not too useful, to simply say that 'down' in space is 'whichever way Earth is', or perhaps even 'whichever way is opposite to the Sun'.
+Which way is "down" is a little more complicated, as both the absolute and relative direction use the same word. It generally means whichever way gravity goes or the direction things fall toward, but it can also be the direction where one's feet are. In space particularly, the latter definition tends to be used, as the former is rather hard to deduce. It is possible, though not too useful, to simply say that "down" in space is whichever way Earth is, or perhaps even whichever way is opposite to the Sun.
-However, even on Earth, the direction of 'down' can get muddled. Humans rely a lot on vision to determine which way is down, so in an enclosed room with no references, one can easily convince themselves (accidentally or deliberately) that down is in a different direction to gravity. Forcing yourself to think in a different perspective changes a lot of things that are usually thought of as mundanities.
+However, even on Earth, the direction of "down" can get muddled. Humans rely a lot on vision to determine which way is down, so in an enclosed room with no references, one can easily convince themselves that "down" is in a different direction to gravity. Forcing yourself to think in a different perspective changes a lot of things that are usually thought of as mundanities.{{actual citation needed}}
-[[Beret Guy]] convinces himself that down is toward the sky. [[Megan]] asks him why he is clinging to the ground. He responds that he is holding on to the ground so that he does not fall into the sky. Megan at first dismisses this but later looks up, gets scared and is found by [[Ponytail]], clinging to a mailbox afraid of falling up (down?).
+[[Beret Guy]] convinces himself that "down" is toward the sky. [[Megan]] asks him why he is clinging to the ground. He responds that he is holding on to the ground so that he does not fall into the sky. Megan dismisses this but then looks "down", gets scared and clings to a mailbox. She is later found by [[Ponytail]].
-The title text continues this idea, where  Megan "drops" a bird into the sky, and never hears it hit the "bottom". As birds can fly, and captured birds often fly away when released, its flight appeared to Megan as the bird falling upward. "Didn't hear it hit bottom" would normally mean that the pit is too deep for the sound of impact to make it back up, although in this case as the 'pit' is genuinely bottomless the bird would never hit 'bottom' even if it didn't move.
+The title text continues this idea, where  Megan releases a bird into the sky, and never hears it hit the "bottom". As birds can fly, and captured birds often fly away when released,{{cn}} its flight appeared to Megan as falling "downward". Normally, this would mean that the pit is too deep for the sound of the impact to come back to the listener, although in this case, the "pit" is bottomless. The bird would never hit the "bottom" even if it didn't move.
 ==Transcript==

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 This comic is about the fact that much of the way we see the world is relative. Which way is left or right, for example, depends on the direction one is facing, so different people can give different answers and both be correct. (Contrast this to absolute directions, such as East and West, which do not change based on one's orientation.)
-Which way is 'down' is a little more complicated, as both the absolute and relative direction use the same word (owing to the two directions usually being the same on Earth): it can be defined as 'whichever way gravity goes / the direction things fall', but it can also be defined as 'the direction one's feet is'. In space particularly, the latter definition tends to be used as the former is rather hard to deduce. It is possible, though not too useful, to simply say that 'down' in space is 'whichever way Earth is', or perhaps even 'whichever way is opposite to the Sun'.
+Which way is 'down' is a little more complicated, as both the absolute and relative direction use the same word (owing to the two directions usually being the same on Earth): it can be defined as 'whichever way gravity goes / the direction things fall', but it can also be defined as 'the direction one's feet are'. In space particularly, the latter definition tends to be used as the former is rather hard to deduce. It is possible, though not too useful, to simply say that 'down' in space is 'whichever way Earth is', or perhaps even 'whichever way is opposite to the Sun'.
 However, even on Earth, the direction of 'down' can get muddled. Humans rely a lot on vision to determine which way is down, so in an enclosed room with no references, one can easily convince themselves (accidentally or deliberately) that down is in a different direction to gravity. Forcing yourself to think in a different perspective changes a lot of things that are usually thought of as mundanities.