Simple Question : what way is up?

This is not a trick question its more about the logic and understanding of how we think or at least how we look at life and the universe that we in fact take for granted.

what way is UP?

ill put my answer to the question after a few posts "if they come"


:mods if this is in the wrong place feel free to move: thanks

reply to post by symmetricAvenger


I'm subjective about it, the opposite of the direction my feet are. Honestly, I am being serious.

reply to post by Watcher-In-The-Shadows


hehe i will post with the answer soon but i want to see some fun reactions so its going to be a fun thread i hope

I was thinnking about it and i agree with the above poster. Dont really know what u mean but if i raise my head and look up, that would be up?

[edit on 18-4-2009 by lighter78]

keep thinking ; )

i need 81 more ways to figure out ow to reply and ill use this time to say i am not a fan of this new way of typing!

but keep thinking look at the post above and think about what he in fact said.. and work it out ; )

ill give you a hint "seems a bit unfair"

we live on a sphere ; )

I stand by my answer of the opposite direction as looking at my feet. Because I mean when you think about it in a zero gee enviroment there isn't really an up because you float.
Ooooo. Better yet. The opposite direction then the one that gravity pulls you to.

[edit on 18-4-2009 by Watcher-In-The-Shadows]

ahh i see your getting closer to the answer

keep thinking a bit more it will come to you!!

think sphere, not gravity! think about me on the other side of the planet...

it will come to you "and its not a shocker" its just we overlook something important.. gives us time and measurement!

think a lot.

reply to post by symmetricAvenger


I think I know were your going with that but I will stick with my subject view of being the opposite direction of where gravity drags me to.

Simply put, it is the only direction i cannot fall , that pretty much covers it all. if you are seeking a 7up you would possibly say the up is in the cooler...

There is no up...it's that simple...we only use the term when we have factors we need to compare and relate to...like the direction gravity pulls us...I'm pulled to the ground...therefore the sky is up...or is the sky really down...I don't know...it depends what I'm relating to and how I chose to label things...it's just useful when describing and labeling situations so we can easily understand what is being described...

up is one of 4 spatial directions that is relative and local to the viewer. it will always be the opposite of down.

That's kind of arbitrary isn't it? I mean depending on where on earth you are then up is in a different place...
but for the sake of this little game here what I think would be up for all of us everywhere on earth....
Find the North Star in the night sky, or at least where you think it should be...point to it... that way is up for all of us...

that's a pretty interesting question.After thinking about it my answer is there is no up there is only in and out.Think about it.

reply to post by pooty


like time travel theory, the passage of time is relative to the viewer but isn't bound by the viewer's position (time still passes everywhere gravity/mass is). if the viewer knows up is always towards the sky, even standing on his head, he would consider up to be above his feet, so up is relative to your position but isn't bound by it, otherwise, up for a person standing on his head, would be the opposite of what it was when he was standing on his feet (et.al down).

if you were flying in a spacecraft with no compass, gyroscope or "bearing" star(s)/planet(s) to judge north by, up would simply be above your head no matter whether you were northside up or not.



[edit on 18-4-2009 by undo]

Originally posted by symmetricAvenger
ahh i see your getting closer to the answer

keep thinking a bit more it will come to you!!

think sphere, not gravity! think about me on the other side of the planet...

it will come to you "and its not a shocker" its just we overlook something important.. gives us time and measurement!

think a lot.

Ahhh, yeah I was thinking, if I'm in the upper hemisphere, being 'up' on the world, but you're in the lower hemisphere, being down to us, but yet above you is 'up', then surely anywhere outwards from the immediate centre of the earth is upwards. Of course this only works on a planet, in space, well, there is no up... there is only ALL.

[edit on 18/4/2009 by purehughness]

I think the concept of "up" is relative to the position of where one stands on the sphere's surface.

If one were to be in the center of the sphere, then all ways would be "up," maybe?

"up" is a human verbal creation. It is the opposite of the WORD "down". It is always relative to human experience because it is ONLY relative to our communicating with each other. "up" has no meaning in the natural world.

Up is a reference.

For example if you are on surface of earth, draw a line from the center of the earths core to the point you are standing on the surface. Continue that line past yourself out into space. The direction of that line is UP.

For example the center of the universe to the point you are standing, the continuation of that line then becomes up.

It all depends on the particular point of reference designated.

reply to post by symmetricAvenger

Simple Question : what way is up?

For a person standing upright, the direction 'up' will be directly overhead.

Of course, since we live on the surface of a roughly spherical planet, the direction 'up' will be different for everybody who's standing on a unique place on the Earth's surface.

It's a completely 'relative' direction - relative to one's location.

This is a great way to illustrate how 6-billion different people might have 6-billion different 'opinions' or 'viewpoints' on a single 'issue' ...

Definately some 'food for thought' here !

someone hit on it above without expanding.....

There is no up, or down, or time or any other form of measurement really...they are all just human concepts that help us make sense of this reality.....even then these concepts are only relative to the individual making the statement....

say for instance there was a ladder stretching from the earth to the moon, one would start by climbing UP the ladder to get to the moon, if someone else started climbing from the moon UP the ladder to the earth these two would meet at somepoint....once they've past each other are they now traveling UP or DOWN??relative to yourself you're traveling up, but you're tavelling down relative to the other.........

I love philisophical questions like this..............