My Moon is Upside Down

Anthrocentrism sometimes blows my mind. The latest example occurred last night when Steve casually asked, "What's wrong with you?" I was staring at the giant map of the moon on the bedroom wall. I replied, "I am upset that because the field of astronomy had its start at a time when the seat of human civilization was in Western Europe, therefore placing extra attention on the importance of the North Pole, has made my map of my moon upside down."*

"Say wha?"

But it doesn't stop there. Not only are maps of the moon upside down, but so are globes and maps of the Earth, the Sun, and every other heavenly body humans choose to represent in 2D or 3D. And even more than that, surely this must affect how we visualize these objects within our own minds. Just think how much of our civilization would be different if the seat of civilization had been in New Zealand. The North Pole would be the South Pole, our perception of going up and down (in a directional sense) would be backwards, we wouldn't have the Man in the Moon (and all the cultural references that have sprung from it); our world would figuratively be flipped upside down. Who knows how many things about human civilization and culture would be different had the first maps or globes favored the "South Pole." It's mindblowing.

Damn you, Western Europe for all your scientific and technological growth in bygone eras. Your arbitrariness strikes and inflicts upon the world still. First you screw us all over with the Prime Meridian, and now the "North Pole!" The astronomers of the world can get together and decide that Pluto is not a planet, yet my map of the moon is still upside down. Where can I go to report this injustice?


*Those who thoroughly support the North Pole and its predominance should not take special offense to this post. Of course, my map of the moon isn't really upside down, but neither is it right side up. My point is to not argue that the South Pole is more important than the North, but rather that it has been unduly convicted to a lifetime sentence as the world's underdog pole because of geopolitics and history.