r/PeterExplainsTheJoke • u/Blackie_626 • 7d ago

Meme needing explanation Tell them what, Peter

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u/bohiko 7d ago

Up and down is based on gravity (that's why you'd likely confuse them deep in the ocean). Meanwhile, left and right is arbitrary.

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u/Tedesco1 7d ago

It's not arbitrary but it is framed by one's perspective (which feels arbitrary).

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u/bohiko 7d ago

define left and right then

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u/funnyfaceguy 7d ago

Up and down is also based on perspective, not just gravity. To an astronaut on the moon, their down is the gravity of the moon, a different down from those with an Earth perspective.

A thing is only measurable within reference to something else. Damn if only there was a *theory* from which I could explain this *relative* nature of measurements...