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Page 4 of 4 < 1 2 3 4 Topic Options #5732 - 09/03/00 06:05 AM Re: North is up, and South is down - sez hu? Bridget addict Registered: 06/27/00 Posts: 444 Loc: Sydney Australia >the weight of evidence favours the idea that driving on the left was the historical norm, with the alternative a result of a conscious desire to break with tradition.< Thanks Max - please let me know if you find it! As for islands, I consider Australia an island and Australasia a continent. I was using 'island' as shorthand for 'island with a single unified governmental structure' - although if I analysed this I might find that my own native land (Britain or England depending on whether I'm thinking about life or rugby - I leave it to you to work out which is more important!) doesn't quite fit the definition.... I long ago gave up trying to remember how many continents there were when I realised I didn't know whether Asia and Europe were two continents or Eurasia was one. Top #5733 - 09/03/00 02:01 PM Re: North is up, and South is down - sez hu? Jazzoctopus old hand Registered: 07/03/00 Posts: 1094 Loc: Cincinnati & Loveland, Ohio, U... I believe a continent is defined by whether it's on its own tectonic plate. Asia and Europe are on two separate plates that smashed into each other creating the Ural mountains. That's why they're considered different continents. Australia is on it's own plate with Oceana and New Zealand, making it a continent. Greenland, however, is on the same plate as the rest of North America, so it's just an island. India is apparently on it's own plate as well, but it's so small that it's just called a sub-continent. Top #5734 - 09/04/00 01:39 AM Re: North is up, and South is down - sez hu? Bingley Carpal Tunnel Registered: 04/09/00 Posts: 3065 Loc: Jakarta In reply to: -imagine standing with a compass in front of you, with an arrow on one end. If you rotate yourself around, at some point the compass will face straight to you / away from you. You are now facing either north or south - for simplicity's sake let's say north. (Sorry Max!!!) -if you now map what's in front of you, stuff in the far north ends up at the top of the page. By extension, stuff behind you must belong at the bottom of the page. ... I find myself much more flummoxed by the idea of a map with east at the top than that of a map with south at the top. If I remember rightly the compass came into use (in Europe at least, earlier in China) some time in the early 15th century, so I think Ted's theory of celestial globes is more likely. Bingley _________________________ Bingley Top #5735 - 09/04/00 01:49 AM Re: North is up, and South is down - sez hu? Bingley Carpal Tunnel Registered: 04/09/00 Posts: 3065 Loc: Jakarta In reply to: I believe a continent is defined by whether it's on its own tectonic plate. As I understand the situation, tectonic plate theory was first put forward in the early part of this century (without wishing to YART I still consider this the 20th century) but did not gain acceptance until the late 1950s or early 1960s. So how were continents defined before then? Bingley _________________________ Bingley Top #5736 - 09/07/00 02:21 AM continents Bridget addict Registered: 06/27/00 Posts: 444 Loc: Sydney Australia >As I understand the situation, tectonic plate theory was first put forward in the early part of this century (without wishing to YART I still consider this the 20th century) but did not gain acceptance until the late 1950s or early 1960s. So how were continents defined before then?< Bingley!!! Just when I thought someone had finally managed to explain it all to my satisfaction.... 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