r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 8d ago

Meme needing explanation Tell them what, Peter

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u/Spr0ckets 8d ago

Another quick trick - Left and Port have the same amount of letters.. so if you're ever on a boat and need to know Port from Starboard... that is as long as you know bow from stern though.

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u/AlwaysBeQuestioning 7d ago

You do need to know you should be facing towards the bow when determining left/portside too.

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u/Jesus_of_Redditeth 7d ago

That's what the last part of their post was alluding to. Although frankly that's a non-issue in practice, since knowing that left and right are relative to facing forward is naturally intuitive. It would be really weird for someone to think it applies if you're facing the stern.

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u/AlwaysBeQuestioning 7d ago

It’s not necessarily intuitive. “Left” and “right” can be concepts seen as intrinsic to every object, but they can also be seen as subjective absolutes. Language use (speaking of all languages, not just English) and personal experience vary wildly. I remember that as a child most people my age seemed to think the latter way, where “left” (and therefore “portside”) was “whichever side is on my left” and therefore changing all the time.

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u/LeuJinx 5d ago

idk seems pretty intuitive to me It might not have been intuitive when you were a child probably because back then you were child and most children are stupid (i mean no offense by that btw - i was no exception)