2 ms·
> I live in Euclidean space, not on a 2-sphere! You live in both. In your daily life, you're restricted to the Earth's surface, and if someone asks you to walk
by pdonis 2y ago
> I live in Euclidean space, not on a 2-sphere!
You live in both. In your daily life, you're restricted to the Earth's surface, and if someone asks you to walk in a straight line, you will walk in a straight line (geodesic/great circle) along the Earth's surface. You're not going to walk off into space, and you're not going to constantly be turning to maintain constant latitude. Over short distances the difference is negligible, but the article is not restricting you to short distances.
- lxgr 2y agoIf someone asks me to walk in a straight line unassisted by navigational aids, I'd probably end up walking in a medium-sized circle of (optimistically) a few kilometers' diameter. For everything beyond that, I'd need a compass or GPS and map, and then... I'd ask them to clarify if they meant a rhumb line, great circle line, or something else :)
- pdonis 2y ago> If someone asks me to walk in a straight line unassisted by navigational aids, I'd probably end up walking in a medium-sized circle of (optimistically) a few kilometers' diameter. Why? If you just put one foot in front of the other, you will naturally walk along a geodesic--a great circle.
- lxgr 2y agoNo, it’ll really be a not-so-great circle :) https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820123927.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820123927.h...