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@astro_jcm@mastodon.online

2026-06-01 17:09 UTC

This superpower is also our kryptonite: when I moved to Chile it took me a while to figure out that the reason I kept getting lost in Santiago was that I was still subconsciously orienting myself assuming that the Sun was towards the south and not the north. https://xkcd.com/3253

Replies (8)

  • @j3j5@mastodon.uy 2026-06-01 17:12

    @astro_jcm@mastodon.online looking for a house the first time in Montevideo... why is everybody promoting their house is facing north? Why would I want... oh wait!! šŸ™ƒ

    Open ##3514115

  • @TimWardCam@c.im 2026-06-01 18:47

    @astro_jcm@mastodon.online I can't get the hang of XKCD in retirement. When I was working I'd have a look every Monday, Wednesday, Friday lunchtime. Now I'm retired with no structure to the week I keep forgetting to look, so now I've got a couple of weeks to catch up. #XKCD

    Open ##3514120

  • @Jaffa@social.linux.pizza 2026-06-01 20:22

    @astro_jcm@mastodon.online Same when I visited Sydney for the first time last year. Took me a while to realise why my subconscious sense of direction was completely unreliable.

    Open ##3514121

  • @andrewg@mastodon.ie 2026-06-01 22:59

    @astro_jcm@mastodon.online same here, I’m always getting turned around in the southern hemisphere. My mental map of Cape Town is pretty good at this point, but is consistently oriented south up.

    Open ##3514151

  • @sohkamyung@mstdn.io 2026-06-02 08:17

    @astro_jcm@mastodon.online Since I live near the Equator (Singapore), I tend to orientate East / West (towards or away from the sun). Which might get me into trouble if I visit Chile in Summer / Winter. šŸ™‚

    Open ##3514154

  • @IAAA@spacey.space 2026-06-02 09:13

    @astro_jcm@mastodon.online And an astrophotographer reading this will know they are dining in the northern hemisphere...

    Open ##3514158

  • @rb3m@mastodon.online 2026-06-02 13:14

    @astro_jcm@mastodon.online In the tropics we look forward to the Sun traveling to the north, and then back to the south.

    Open ##3514163

  • @jswilkins@fediscience.org 2026-06-06 00:11

    @astro_jcm@mastodon.online @Ruth_Mottram@fediscience.org Every time I go to the northern hemisphere I have the inverse problem

    Open ##3514171