Where is the front of the bowl?

[DMI]

The analogy of drilling troops is possibly the worst you could use.

The position of the officer/nco has no relevance, it is the direction the front rank is facing which determines the front, although it is 'normal' to start with the troops facing thier officer as soon as they turn the front changes. This would mean that when you take the pipe out of your mouth the front would change to whichever part of the pipe was facing the smoker.

To me the front of the pipe is the bit that hits the wall first, unless you are going backwards in which case it's the back of your head, or it has flown out of your hand on the buffing wheel.

Cars have front and rear bumpers, windows, seats etc.

Now take a perfect sphere and tell me which is the front, you can only give an answer based on it's current position and enviroment as in reality it has no front/back/sides/bottom as an object in its own right.

David.

[taharris]

I think you guys have too much time on your hands.

Todd

[RadDavis]

Now take a perfect sphere and tell me which is the front,

David.

Am I in front of the sphere, or behind it?

Rad

[wdteipen]

I guess it was silly to think that we could standardize anything in our craft.

[DMI]

Am I in front of the sphere, or behind it?

That depends on where you set points of reference, with no set points of reference there can be no direction. In the case of the sphere one would be on the surface and the other at some point off the sphere.

The act of looking at something gives it a point of reference , you. It is then up to you to impose directionality based on what you learnt between 2 & 5 years of age.

Mind you loosing your sense of direction seems to linked with old age.

Night Night.

[RadDavis]

As I look straight ahead at the sphere, I can see it behind me, therefore the front is beside me, but is it on the left or the right?

This is puzzling.

Rad

[Growley]

So, if we were able to determine which side of the sphere was front and which side was back, would that change if it was rotating?

[DMI]

Rad is earning to much he can afford two mirrors, and he's climbed inside the sphere.

Growley, it would depend on your choice, if you decide the side facing away from you is the front then it is always the front even during rotation, if you make a fixed point on the sphere and say that is the front it will be the front during rotation whichever way it faces.

David

[RadDavis]

Why is a mouse when it runs?

Rad