Alaska is a unique place to visit, as I found out a few years ago on my only trip to the state. The wildlife, land, glaciers, and culture were all different than other places I had been. As usual, my kids noticed different things than I did and came away with their own impressions. One of their favorite parts of the trip was meeting dogs that had run in the famous Iditarod dogsled trail race that is held every year between Anchorage and Nome, Alaska. We also got to meet their puppies. The kids wanted to take one home, which we didn’t. If they had their way, our house would be a zoo by now (and Dad would be stuck taking care of all the critters).
Of course, we could have gone anywhere and seen dogs, but that was what the kids remembered. Also on that trip, we attended a lecture by a woman who had competed in the Iditarod race, running her team of dogs in it for several years. I don’t remember much from the talk, since the kids were bored with it after 10 minutes, but the Iditarod queen delivered one quote that they remembered. She had been talking about Huskies, the main breeds used for sled dogs, and she said they are not the kind of dogs that can be confined up in a yard without more activity. “Lock up a Husky in your backyard and it’ll dig a hole halfway to China” was the line that the kids liked.
When I was a child, I heard similar expressions several times. There is a popular (mis)conception in the United States that China is on the opposite side of the world. But it isn’t nearly that far. If a North American could tunnel straight through a globe to the other side, the hole would emerge nowhere near China. (For the flat-earthers among us, stick a pin in your world you’ll hit the wall.)
So where would you come out on the other side of a globe?
As Above, So Below
Plato may have been the first to use the term “antipodes” to mean opposing points on any globe.
"For if there were any solid body in equipoise at the centre of the universe, there would be nothing to draw it to this extreme rather than to that, for they are all perfectly similar; and if a person were to go round the world in a circle, he would often, when standing at the antipodes of his former position, speak of the same point as above and below; for, as I was saying just now, to speak of the whole which is in the form of a globe as having one part above and another below is not like a sensible man." -- Plato (full credit appears below post)
Digging for gold or the other side of the world. Photo: Creative Commons via Flickr by eselsmann.
You also might think that the place furthest from Alaska (which has some year-round glaciers) would be somewhere warm and tropical, a direct opposite. But that’s not the case, because when you think about it, a hole straight through the globe from a very northerly location will emerge at a very southerly location. Closer to a pole than to the equator, it is likely to be just as cold. Dig a hole from a spot on the equator and you won’t hit an iceberg; you’ll eventually reach another spot far on that same equator.
To find your location’s antipode on the map, you can enter the address at this site: https://www.antipodesmap.com/ . If you enter “Anchorage, Alaska”, for instance, the opposite point on the globe lies in the southern ocean, directly south of South Africa and close to Antarctica. Dig a hole straight through from Honolulu, Hawaii and you’ll end up near Ghanzi, Botswana. The antipode for Hong Kong is a spot near the border of Argentina and Bolivia. Lisbon, Portugal gets you within spitting distance of Auckland, New Zealand.
It’s a fun way to find a sister city. But since the earth is 2/3 water, it’s also very common for one’s antipode to be a spot in the middle of the ocean. If you dug a hole through the earth’s core and came out the other side under an ocean, would the water drain through the hole? Maybe I’ll ask my kids.
From the antipodes.com link above using Google Maps.
As Above, So Below?
Throughout history, humans have been fascinated with duality. Mirror images, identical twins and doppelgangers, and Newton’s Third Law of Motion testify that something eerily similar can appear in another place. But often, we’ve seen the tensions between opposing forces from two different points as well. Some of the Nineteenth Century philosophers (Hegel, Marx, Nietzsche) saw the struggle between opposing ideas or groups as a key to understanding the development of history or the human condition. And certainly, the good versus evil duality has been a dominant theme in religions and literature all across the world. Even modern day physicists tell us that parallel worlds can exist, and even if your carbon copy twin looks just the same there, he or she is living a different life.
There are numerous examples of symmetry in nature, but far more often, nature is too busy or curious to make an exact copy. Other natural forms, such as spirals and waves, are much more common and generally look more beautiful to the human eye. In fact, our brains are conditioned to expect organic differences in the things we see. Artists know this, which is why a mirror image in art is a rare thing and it usually doesn’t look quite right to us. Ask any painter, sculptor, or photographer: It is typical for artistic compositions to be somewhat asymmetrical and off-center. That’s how the world looks when we see it.
Opposites Attract
If I’ve left out any good clichés from this post, you’ll have to remind me of them. In the meantime, differing opposites seem like more fun to explore than mirror images. And so I will leave you with a few resources to do just that (see below).
From these sites, you can find opposite words, jobs, and personalities. Opposite words are known as antonyms and you probably know all about them, but this word generator is interesting to try out. The opposite jobs finder is limited in scope, but it can be rather entertaining. For example, if you input the job “writer” and select the closest result, then the job with the most different skill set is “mobile home installer”. So now I know what I’m planning to do for my next career change: I’ll become a mobile home installer in my next life.
Source: https://www. youtube. com/watch?v=bdj_uyxTPXk. Extra spaces inserted in address to prevent auto-embedding.. The video there is not relevant; I just stole the picture.
And if it’s true that opposites attract in terms of relationships, then here is a tool for finding what personality might be completely different from yours. I’ve never been convinced that different personalities attract one another, and that law of attraction may have as much to do with different physical appearances, but certainly most of us have seen examples of both.
Ignore the Patterns and the Noise
Our brains like to find patterns and try to make sense of information by organizing it in certain ways. That makes our memories imperfect and it also means that we desire to see patterns or correlations that may not really exist. If you doubt this, I recommend reading The Drunkard’s Walk by Leonard Mlotinow or The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver. We want to make sense of the chaos and the noise, but often we try too hard to organize information and overanalyze when our views of it are not significant in the end.
And thus I will end this less significant exploration of significant matters. Sometimes it’s better to sit back, take a deep breath, and let things happen as they will. Go with the flow. And have some fun on the journey, wherever it takes you.
Fun links and references:
Opposite Word Finder: http://www.opposite-word.com/
Opposite Personality Finder: http://www.playbuzz.com/mirandar10/what-opposite-personality-do-you-attract
Opposite Job Finder: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/08/08/upshot/what-is-your-opposite-job.html?emc=edit_nn_20170809&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=75727655&te=1
Opposite Points on the Map Finder: https://www.antipodesmap.com/
Plato quote source: Plato, Timaeus 63a, translated by Benjamin Jowett, (Indianapolis: Bobbs Merrill, 1949), cited in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipodes.
Mlotinow, Leonard. The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives, Vintage (2009).
Silver, Nate. The Signal and the Noise: Why So many Predictions Fail – And Some Don’t, Penguin (2015).
All images from Pixabay unless otherwise noted.
Wow! So interesting. I'm definitely going to give antipodesmap.com a try and find out what's on the opposite side of the globe from me. Thanks for the info!
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Hey if it's got Plato in it. It's got to be a golden post! 🌞🌞🌞🌞😛😛😛👩🏻💻
hahaha assumptions are dangerous but this is a somewhat safe one ;-)>
Haha the post was amazing but I'm just saying adding Plato in it added for me haha😇😊
Yes I agree completely~*~
Ooh a Plato fan. Good to see.
A very good post. I like picture no 2 because I like to keep animals let alone wild animals that have been tame. Thank you for sharing information.
Alaska is in my bucket list. One day, i will visit or stay in Alaska.
Follow me @Yehey
Alaska a very beautiful place. One day I will also go there for the holidays.
Okay, follow back @fauzi03
Nice comment
Right.i agree with you.
Opposite characters may attract but in most cases do not stay long in relationships... They will have issues with their interests .... Nice post @donkeypong thanks for this
Wow, you totally beat me to this.
I've noticed people dishing out the opposites attract thing a lot, but in truth, those kinds of relationships appear to fall apart every time. I'm not exactly experienced in that area, but it's still often the case.
I've written a post on the late, great Chuck Berry's music. It's pretty musical. :)
The real aim of a relationship is not to think alike, but to think together - Ellen
:)
Haha, that's a pretty nice quote. I like it!
That can be true. I have some skepticism towards the 'opposites attract' thing as well.
Nice
Yea I know chicks that want to go lesbo just because they are tired of dealing with stupid men. So is that going super opposite or going super similar? Could be seen either way.
Opposites attract as they repel.....Just depends on the particular alchemy of life∞§∞
Life is a journey and every little bit of knowledge gained is to fine tune our experience.
Think of it as scales trying to balance itself. Sooner or later equilibrium will be found :)
My Antipode is Brazil, it also has a spiritual meaning for me too.
Hello @donkeypong
Thank you for all your support for for me. God Bless you.
I love huskies @donkeypong they are a gorgeous breed, yes there are many saying about digging all the way to china maybe this comes from cartoons that often show character digging and coming out the other side in chine and in many causes everything is upside down to represent a very different culture.
Alaska, I can not imagine how cold temperatures there are. Husky type dog I really like, he looks strong and friendly.
Apophenia - a good word, I forget where I learned it. It's basically the word for when the pattern-recognition capabilities of we humans go -- not necessarily haywire but go overactive, seeking patterns whether they are there or not.
In the ancient times, when our ancestors were still nomadic hunter-gatherers for whom spoken language was still a cutting-edge technology, three guys might hear a rustling sound in the bush.
I suspect most of us in today's world are descended from Guy Number One and then a few from Guys Two and Three. Why? Because Guy Number One survived and had kids.
Guy Number Two would either end up a hero for killing the tiger (and thus have lots of kids) OR as is far more likely, end up inside the tiger's belly (and have none.)
Guy Number Three was either lucky (maybe it actually was the wind.) Or the tiger was full (possibly from eating Guy Number Two)
The moral of the story is that we are (mostly) descended from people with the most active and paranoid pattern recognition.
You're making too much sense. You might want to consider doing a whole post on that. :)
Heheheh - comments are the reason why I am never worried about running out of material; almost every comment I type generates a new post idea. The magic of Steemit; collaboration happens always, even involuntarily :)
There is no a completed family without a Dog. it looks like you have had a great time traveling with you family. hope so soon have this life to :) Enjoy it body
Dogs are great. Thanks for the good wishes. Best to you also.
My interest has been piqued; and I know that one day, miracle will happen, and I'll find myself in this place called "Alaska".
BTW I'm from Africa
It's almost a world away, but I hope you have that opportunity to travel someday also.
Alaska is definitely on my travel bucket list. I have been to so many places on this planet, but I feel like Alaska would be one of those unique places unlike any other I have visited. Thanks for re-inspiring me to go to Alaska. And great pictures. :) Have a great day.
Interesting post. I like that maybe we just relax and enjoy the wonder that life
provides and not have to figure out the hows and whys.
The older I get, the more I agree with that statement.
Exactly~
Go with the flow~;~
@donkeypong thanks for sharing with us these knowledge it's really grateful to read that type of articles.
Popular opinion tells us that opposites attract. Look at Romeo and Juliet coming from two perpetually feuding families. Or Tony and Maria in “West Side Story,” one Polish-American, the other Puerto Rican, and as different as they are they can’t resist one another. We believe that such different types are magnetically drawn together.
Great post, I had come to know little bit about Alaska from TV show, yes dogs and puppies were seen their everywhere. I think it is located in the eastern side of Asia. Yes it is child psychology, they have not any patience to hear any lectures. My kids also love puppies. Friend it was very funny that when I was in primary school and came to know that Earth is round, I thought that ,it was round like a football, hollow in side and I thought that we live inside the earth. Any way thanks for sharing such an amazing fact about Alaska and your view point about parrallal world and identical twins. Great post ,great thought from great steemian's .Have a great time friend.
From time to time, Alaska is always great to visit.
I love the weather there, it's so cold and fresh
Thanks for sharing the information Mr @donkeypong
I hope I can read your another unique article 😊
Sangat menakjubkan...
You remind me of Vsauce the way you jump from one topic to the next, but somehow related - this style keeps it interesting & fresh.
Just connecting some dots.
About this canine the Huskies, I also heard some weird expressions such as "you should bite their ears for them to follow you", I don't know where is that exactly.
Trying to figure the hows and whys of life makes it hard work living. Just go with the flow and do your part to stay alive and then the hows and whys will take care of themselves. That's what I tell myself.
I think I should visit this place.
Haha. I always come across those frog pictures on Pixabay when I look there for something. I finally decided to use one of them.
Ahaha yeah, kids wants lots of things except responsibilities.. That antipode map is awesome. If I dig from my house in Sydney, I would flood the whole city and drown, I end up in the middle of North Atlantic Ocean. It even told me to watch out for sharks..
In photography there is a rule of third, the main subject is not centered. Why? So the viewer can look at the whole entirety of the image. This also keeps the viewer looking longer. Not just the center of the image and click next.
I agree with the opposites attracting. My ex went out with someone who was so much like her. Hot headed, short fuse and very confronting. They lasted a month.
And, apparently I attract a healer. Which describes my partner well. Wow. Bookmarked for future references, hehe.
That's nice to know the tool works (sometimes!) if it predicted your relationship accurately.
Well done, the hint on opposite attracts is a true fact especially in relationships. some times I imagine what a relationship with exactly like individuals will be like. Thank you for the information, quite educative and mind opening.
First of all... you took your kids to a lecture on vacation. You are a brave man!
Second I had to check out the opposite jobs one. Opposite of a teacher is an "agricultural grader". I would give all the agriculture a grade of "A" and then go and chill.
Yes, I know it sounds dry for kids. But we had some sort of a package as I recall and that was included. Having daughters, I thought they might be inspired by seeing an Iditarod queen in person. But ten minutes was enough.
Man I admire you for giving it a shot. When they are older they will appreciate the effort.
nice. i like this post. thank you, upvoted
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Good blog, thank you for sharing this with us @donkeypong
I remembered Jack London
Opposites combined together create reality)
Opposite ones can vanish each with momentary touch such as matter and antimatter. Be careful about your antimatter version 😛
Great post! Thanks for sharing!
This was interesting to read.
Nice post @donkeypong
Im from indonesia, nice to meet you
Can you follow me back
And can i make design for you just to be a friend????
🤘👉 @apvlog
Discuss the great adventure,And about the real difference between the parts of the world,So our brain can digest it new,There may be a slight resistance that arises, but it depends how to understand it.Because this is the world which contain myriads million secrets.thank @donkeypong, your post is the best.
Nice post i like it 👍 @donkeypong
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Post is benefits :)
Thank for your post blog @donkeypong
Mi opposite location is... some point in the pacific ocean. But i can swin to Yakarta coast xD.
Thanks for u artikel... Good
A great journey @donkeypong. alaska is a lot we find. Hopefully one day I can visit it. Thank you for sharing this very interesting information
Bello lugar. sospecho que es Brrrrr
Vote my account plz
Your post is very good. For those of us who live in the tropics, which you tell like a fairy tale. Hahaha....
This is funny,
Well, i better perfect how to swim. I cant risk the ocean mhen.
Great post @donkeypong.
Good pictures and excellent contain. Thank you. Upvoted
I love alaska
Interesting posts thank you for sharing information
Great article thanks for sharing
great post and thanks for sharing
This one is beautifully written, Donkeypong! I've always wanted to visit US and especially Hawaii and Alaska. I LOVE HUSKIES!!!!!
I have never travelled out of my country before