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The dictionary starts with those 60 words, like axioms in mathematics. Then it builds up a vocabulary on top of them. Left is defined this way: [X is on the ri

by freyr 7y ago

The dictionary starts with those 60 words, like axioms in mathematics. Then it builds up a vocabulary on top of them. Left is defined this way: [X is on the right side of your body.] = X is on this side of your body: Most people write using the hand they have on this side of their body. So "on a side of", "people", "be/is", are included in those first 60 words. "body", "write", "hand", etc. are defined after the first 60 words, but before "right" and "left".

raldi 7y ago
Sure, but "go ask a bunch of people which hand they write with" seems like a huge copout to me. It's like if prime numbers were defined as, "The numbers most mathematicians say are prime."
- underyx 7y ago
  So how would you propose to explain which side is which?
  - tftplayer 7y ago
    Use an asymmetry of the human body. Left is on the same side as your heart.
    - Freak_NL 7y ago
      Which is again, only most of time (cf: dextrocardia). Not as common as left-handedness (one in ten), but still in the order of one in ten thousand people.
    - pmalynin 7y ago
      Your heart is squarely in the middle. You feel the heart beat on the left because the ventricle is larger.
  - 8bitsrule 7y ago
    Left: Face the noon sun. Lift one arm to point at where it was first seen this morning. Edit: works where I live. YMMV. Adapt as needed (which I thought about saying but decided wasn't needed here.)
    - dragonwriter 7y ago
      > Left: Face the noon sun. Lift one arm to point at where it was first seen this morning. That...fails to be generally accurate pretty badly.
      - Groxx 7y ago
        As a quick example: north vs south hemisphere swaps this.
        dragonwriter 7y ago
        That's approximately correct, though It think it's most actually “north or south of the subsolar point at noon on the day in question”. North and South of the tropics will give either consistently right or consistently wrong answers, but within the tropics you'll get different answers on different days.
- probably_wrong 7y ago
  The main point for me is that you don't only need a good definition of left (/right), but you also need to keep your audience in mind. If you ask me "what type of person doesn't know what 'left' means", my answer would be "either a child or a foreigner who just started learning the language". For that audience, even saying "the side where your heart is" (like some other comment suggests) would require knowing what "heart" means, which might not be a good assumption for this specific audience.

by freyr 7y ago

raldi 7y ago

Sure, but "go ask a bunch of people which hand they write with" seems like a huge copout to me. It's like if prime numbers were defined as, "The numbers most mathematicians say are prime."

underyx 7y ago
So how would you propose to explain which side is which?
- tftplayer 7y ago
  Use an asymmetry of the human body. Left is on the same side as your heart.
  - Freak_NL 7y ago
    Which is again, only most of time (cf: dextrocardia). Not as common as left-handedness (one in ten), but still in the order of one in ten thousand people.
  - pmalynin 7y ago
    Your heart is squarely in the middle. You feel the heart beat on the left because the ventricle is larger.
- 8bitsrule 7y ago
  Left: Face the noon sun. Lift one arm to point at where it was first seen this morning. Edit: works where I live. YMMV. Adapt as needed (which I thought about saying but decided wasn't needed here.)
  - dragonwriter 7y ago
    > Left: Face the noon sun. Lift one arm to point at where it was first seen this morning. That...fails to be generally accurate pretty badly.
    - Groxx 7y ago
      As a quick example: north vs south hemisphere swaps this.
      - dragonwriter 7y ago
        That's approximately correct, though It think it's most actually “north or south of the subsolar point at noon on the day in question”. North and South of the tropics will give either consistently right or consistently wrong answers, but within the tropics you'll get different answers on different days.
probably_wrong 7y ago
The main point for me is that you don't only need a good definition of left (/right), but you also need to keep your audience in mind. If you ask me "what type of person doesn't know what 'left' means", my answer would be "either a child or a foreigner who just started learning the language". For that audience, even saying "the side where your heart is" (like some other comment suggests) would require knowing what "heart" means, which might not be a good assumption for this specific audience.