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The Longest Route You Can Sail in a Straight Line Without Hitting Land
- mikequinlan 4y agoIsn't the surface of the earth curved? If you travel in a straight line you either end up in space or pass through the earth.
- atwood22 4y agoThe surface of the earth is curved, but it’s also a 2 manifold so you can talk about “straight” lines.
- ksaj 4y agoCorrect! Likewise, we can still talk about moving "southwest" from a point, even though it will eventually turn into "northeast" beyond the point you consider to be northernmost or southernmost. And also why we can talk about the "far east" which can be west of your geographical location. These directions are all curved, and following them won't suddenly send you into space. Then you have all the twisty language formations when discussing your whereabouts when travelling through the middle east. If you travel in a straight line eastward, you'll occasionally end up in the west, yet still heading east. You can't describe "straight" in the way Flat Earthers do when talking about the globe we live on.