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General Science => General Science => Topic started by: neilep on 17/03/2008 14:14:15

Title: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: neilep on 17/03/2008 14:14:15: Dearest Science Peeps Of Respect and Admiration Makers Of Me,

I'm confused !! (lol...this is not new as ewe well know)

Y'see I was on my train the other day...

TubeTrainx.jpg (11.96 kB . 240x180 - viewed 3912 times)

nice eh ?.....being delivered next Tuesday !

This is hurting my head...because the train was traveling in one direction....but by my being foolish and spontaneously mad.....I did a daring thing !!......Ewe will be astonished !!.......I stood up and went and sat in the opposite seat !! *GASP..SHOCK HORROR !!!*....well...this caused a riot but after settling down and dishing out some meditational advice to the commuters...I noticed that I was traveling the other way......but the train was still traveling in it's direction !!

Help !!..when on a train......and ewe getup and sit on the opposite seat across the carriage.....am I still traveling in the same direction..?...what about if pointing forwards or backwards......??

Ewe can tell me....I'm a qualified sheep!
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: another_someone on 17/03/2008 14:40:04: Or, to put it another way, direction is relative and not absolute [:)]
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: neilep on 17/03/2008 14:52:37: Quote from: another_someone on 17/03/2008 14:40:04
Or, to put it another way, direction is relative and not absolute [:)]

Oh my poor Think-Department !!

I understand the relative bit....I'm an expert on relativity...I have lots of relatives !!....... [;D]...

...but here I am inside a train that's moving....and then one minute I'm going left...then I'm going right but the train isn't bothered....it;s still going the way it goes.......or *gulp*...has the train also changed direction ?....noooooooooooooooooo !!!!!
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: Karen W. on 17/03/2008 18:55:09: HUH????? LOL! I don't get it!
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: ukmicky on 17/03/2008 19:33:01: Quote
HUH????? LOL! I don't get it!

Dont worry your not the only one. :)
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: Make it Lady on 17/03/2008 19:42:56: I get it because I have no sense of direction. When I'm shopping and I go in a shop and look around, when I come out again I'm quite often confused as to which direction I have come from and which I should go next. To me it feels like whilst I was in the shop someone switch the outside around. I quite often go back the way I came.
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: Karen W. on 17/03/2008 22:40:54: Quote from: Karen W. on 17/03/2008 18:55:09
HUH????? LOL! I don't get it!

Thanks good to see I am not alone in that! LOL
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: Karen W. on 17/03/2008 22:41:39: Quote from: Make it Lady on 17/03/2008 19:42:56
I get it because I have no sense of direction. When I'm shopping and I go in a shop and look around, when I come out again I'm quite often confused as to which direction I have come from and which I should go next. To me it feels like whilst I was in the shop someone switch the outside around. I quite often go back the way I came.

I get that way too. lost at the drop of a hat.
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: neilep on 17/03/2008 22:43:14: My Sat Nav person is a girly !!...she knows where places are !!
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: Karen W. on 17/03/2008 22:43:48: Neily when you say you switched seats do you mean there was a seat in front of you but that was facing you and you stood turned around and sat facing what used to be behind you???? or do you mean across the isle to your left or right??
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: neilep on 17/03/2008 22:55:44: Quote from: Karen W. on 17/03/2008 22:43:48
Neily when you say you switched seats do you mean there was a seat in front of you but that was facing you and you stood turned around and sat facing what used to be behind you???? or do you mean across the isle to your left or right??

[diagram=325_0]

I found this excellent drawing....does this help explain it ?
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: Karen W. on 17/03/2008 23:09:31: LOL LOL...! Yes in deed and also the feeling ... so the train was moving forward but you were facing towards the side of the train not the front or back.. I can see where that may be disorienting like woking on a conveyor belt... it gets hard to tell which way the belt is moving and you can really get messed up.. Its important to keep your eye on the stationary objects ie the people siting.. as the movement of the train moving forward and you sitting facing opposite direction of the movement can actually make you feel as if you can't tell which direction the train is actually traveling with the motion and eyes play a trick on your sense of direction.. I am not sure why but working o an assembly line or belt does that to.. you must train your eye to see the object on the belt and not look at the belt itself! It is weird.. it can actually make you sick.. as the train in a large enough dose of that can make you motion sick seeing and feeling the movement that way,,
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: Karen W. on 17/03/2008 23:09:58: That is an excellent drawing by the way! [;)] [;D]
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: rosalind dna on 17/03/2008 23:35:24: Quote from: neilep on 17/03/2008 14:14:15
Dearest Science Peeps Of Respect and Admiration Makers Of Me,

I'm confused !! (lol...this is not new as ewe well know)

Y'see I was on my train the other day...

[ Invalid Attachment ]

nice eh ?.....being delivered next Tuesday !

This is hurting my head...because the train was traveling in one direction....but by my being foolish and spontaneously mad.....I did a daring thing !!......Ewe will be astonished !!.......I stood up and went and sat in the opposite seat !! *GASP..SHOCK HORROR !!!*....well...this caused a riot but after settling down and dishing out some meditational advice to the commuters...I noticed that I was traveling the other way......but the train was still traveling in it's direction !!

Help !!..when on a train......and ewe getup and sit on the opposite seat across the carriage.....am I still traveling in the same direction..?...what about if pointing forwards or backwards......??

Ewe can tell me....I'm a qualified sheep !

Neil you got on the wrong train and so got onto the wrong platform,
next time look at the front of the oncoming train and you'll see
the direction/station that it's going in.
You are not the only person, who's got on the wrong train, I've
done it many times. Also I hope this helps a little bit,
(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg1.picturewizard.com%2F13266BD%2F0%2F11568906962L3e4j.jpg&hash=897423965b07518f8df7ac2519855f0c)
Title: Re: How does the brain decode our direction of travel?
Post by: lyner on 18/03/2008 09:58:07: Dear Trainquestionologists.
When I'm sitting on a moving / swaying / rattling train at night, head down, reading a book, I often forget which way I'm facing and I can convince myself that I am going either way. That's an inertial frame for you.
The other day, I almost fell down in a stationary train when putting my bag on the rack; the train, next to ours pulled out of the Station and I was convinced we were on the move. I guess it was a 'train simulator'.