Relevant XKCD:
Title text: Sure, we could stop dictators and pandemics, but we could also make the signs on every damn diagram make sense.
Well obviously the robots would be good instead of evil that way
test:
e: you can link them directly
Negatrons and Positrons would have been so much better names
Benjamin Franklin’s ultimate prank
What if I told you the original selection of terms “positive” and “negative” was arbitrary?
Anyway a positively charged electron exists. It’s called a positron.
Bananas emit either a positron or an antiproton at an average of 1 every 90 minutes, IIRC. Eat your antimatter kids! The potassium is good for you.
Still not as fun as spin up/spin down quarks. Are they spinning? Not at all. And Charm quarks. What the hell does that even mean, science nerds? We also have the strange quark… aren’t they all really strange or have you just completely given up?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_particles
The hypothetical particle names get messy, lol.
I recognise the grandstand from the Marylebone Cricket Club, but they tore down the rest of the stadium. I guess that’s a good thing?
this would also be society if counterclockwise and clockwise were swapped. it’s the universal way to talk about 2d rotations but pretty much nothing (except a clock) ends up turning clockwise. it didn’t have to be this way
Ummm… Have you ever used a screw? Bottle cap? “Right tighty, lefty loosey”? A car wheel when going forward? Literally 99% of things tighten clockwise.
You’re the person people have to say “no, your other left” a lot to, aren’t ya?
i don’t ever use bottle caps or cars. but in the case of screws (and bottle caps), the choice to make them tighten clockwise and loosen counter clockwise is entirely arbitrary.
my main point is that i think it’s confusing that clockwise is negatively oriented and counterclockwise is positively oriented (in the mathematical sense). and the mathematical definition of orientation is ultimately dependent on trigonometry. and it just feels wrong that clocks are negatively oriented.
You’re the person people have to say “no, your other left” a lot to, aren’t ya?
no.
“the choice is arbitrary”.
Except it’s not as many other have pointed out. You’re just confused and trying to spread your confusion to others. Yes, advanced math gets complex, that’s advanced math. Don’t drag trig into this when you’re just confused.
“the choice is arbitrary”.
Except it’s not as many other have pointed out. You’re just confused and trying to spread your confusion to others. Yes, advanced math gets complex, that’s advanced math. Don’t drag trig into this when you’re just confused.
Also “I don’t use bottle caps or cars”? Seriously just buzz off with that. You don’t live anywhere where you’re not using the simple machine of a screw. I hope Archimedes is rolling clockwise in his grave right now.
No, I think it makes sense.
Living organisms use ions internally (positive charges) because they produce something (like fruits).
Technology uses negative charges because it harvests those fruits, and takes them away (negative).
