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No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world · 2 months ago

Why don't compasses have just two Cardinal directions (North, East, -North, -East)?

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Why don't compasses have just two Cardinal directions (North, East, -North, -East)?

colourlesspony@pawb.social to

No Stupid Questions@lemmy.world · 2 months ago

Do we really need West and South when we can use negative North and negative East?

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2 months ago
Just guessing here, but I would think it’s for for clarity and brevity. West and South are shorter to say and distinct enough to avoid being easily misheard causing somebody to go in the opposite direction than intended.

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