How do we know that north is up?

Question

Think about it.. just because the worlds first discoverers were from the northern hemisphere, why do they think that that side of the world is up? It could be that we are looking at the world upside down. If the first discoverers were from Australia or Africa, would the world map be drawn in reverse?

Answer 1

The compass is believed to have been discovered separately in China and Italy during the 13th century. The reason is that the Chinese had the south up, while the Italians had the north up.
But long before that, European maps were drawn with the north up because navigators used the north star to find both their direction and latitude.
Since you look up in the sky to see the star, it made sense to have the north on the top of the map.

Answer 2

Yes, No , and Yes The world first discoverers were in the northern hemisphere when they believed the earth was flat, hence anything around the curve of the earth was on the bottom part of the earth ( Yes #1 ) If the first discoverers were from the southern hemisphere then the north would have been drawn pointing south ( Yes #2 ) Are we looking at the world upside down - No because north discoverers came first

Answer 3

You're quite right. "North" and "South" are just conventions... there IS a magnetic field in the southern hemisphere.... magnets DO point towards the south pole...it's just the other end of them which does. If people in Australia had "invented" maps and magnetism first, and if they had decided that "North" was a good name for the direction towards the nearest pole, then the North pole would be where the South pole is now.

There's also nothing magic about the "top" or "bottom" of the world. An inverted map (with Antarctica at the top) is just as valid and useful as the more traditional arrangement.

Answer 4

Suppose you happened upon a compass, and held it so that you were pointing in the northern direction. To walk in that direction, the compass would have to be pointed away from you. If you were to lay a sheet of paper in front of you, and then try to draw a map on it, naturally north would be away from you or 'up' when you hold the paper in the air.

Answer 5

North is not up, up is the sky, north is north, they know this because the North pole has a natural electromagnetic field which is detected by certain metals. This is the reason why compasses work, there is no electromagnetic field in the south which is detectable, that is why north was set to be in the upper part of maps, just like east was set to be where the sun rises every morning.

Answer 6

are you serious?