3 ms·

Idk, I think it’s pretty clear based on the description what they mean. For one, the problem description says the straight line is “along the Earth’s surface”

Idk, I think it’s pretty clear based on the description what they mean. For one, the problem description says the straight line is “along the Earth’s surface” so I don’t think you can reasonably think it might go into space. And to me it seems reasonable to say a straight line means not turning. I personally imagined getting in a plane and going straight forward, assuming there is no wind to blow me off course. That is just the common understanding of straight. If somebody asks you to walk in a straight line, do you ask them what coordinate system they’re using? No, you walk forward without turning. I guess “most obvious” can always be up to interpretation, though.

hervature 2y ago
I think if you were to ask someone not trained in navigation "to fly straight" between two points on the globe, they are probably not going to come up with the concept of great circles and most likely will end up turning a bunch during their flight "to fly straight". I could be wrong but I think "most obvious" if we are defining it as "the most natural thing most people would do without explicit training" then the article is wrong and this thread would agree with this conclusion. I don't disagree that it is possible to deduce the great circle if you think about it and have the knowledge to coordinate systems. But why even ask the question this way when you can get to the core of the question by explicitly asking "Along the great circle that reaches its max latitude at Seattle, what's the next country it touches going eastward from Seattle?" This would yield many more correct answers and why people think its mostly wordplay (because it is).
- brokencode 2y ago
  The problem just says to fly straight, not straight between two points. Though this thread is proof that a lot of people interpreted it differently, so all I can say is that I personally think it makes sense. Even so, my guess after a very brief thought about it was actually Canada, so this understanding didn’t help me any :) I had never heard of this concept of “great circles” before, so it personally wouldn’t have made it clearer to me without some research. Given my ignorance on this topic, I found the fact that Australia was the first country you’d hit to be really quite remarkable.
mbrameld 2y ago
> the straight line is “along the Earth’s surface” Well, you've already run into a problem, because any line that follows the Earth's surface can't possibly be straight.

hervature 2y ago

I think if you were to ask someone not trained in navigation "to fly straight" between two points on the globe, they are probably not going to come up with the concept of great circles and most likely will end up turning a bunch during their flight "to fly straight". I could be wrong but I think "most obvious" if we are defining it as "the most natural thing most people would do without explicit training" then the article is wrong and this thread would agree with this conclusion. I don't disagree that it is possible to deduce the great circle if you think about it and have the knowledge to coordinate systems. But why even ask the question this way when you can get to the core of the question by explicitly asking "Along the great circle that reaches its max latitude at Seattle, what's the next country it touches going eastward from Seattle?" This would yield many more correct answers and why people think its mostly wordplay (because it is).

brokencode 2y ago
The problem just says to fly straight, not straight between two points. Though this thread is proof that a lot of people interpreted it differently, so all I can say is that I personally think it makes sense. Even so, my guess after a very brief thought about it was actually Canada, so this understanding didn’t help me any :) I had never heard of this concept of “great circles” before, so it personally wouldn’t have made it clearer to me without some research. Given my ignorance on this topic, I found the fact that Australia was the first country you’d hit to be really quite remarkable.

mbrameld 2y ago

> the straight line is “along the Earth’s surface” Well, you've already run into a problem, because any line that follows the Earth's surface can't possibly be straight.