Geodesics Memes

Posts tagged with Geodesics

A Rare W For Differential Geometry
Math Earth-science Science
15 days ago 3.3K views 0 shares
A Rare W For Differential Geometry
This meme brilliantly showcases the mind-bending reality of geodesics on a curved surface! The straight-looking blue line between the USA and India isn't actually straight at all—it's a geodesic curve following the shortest path on our spherical Earth. Differential geometry FTW! While flat maps make it look like you'd sail through South America and Africa to get from the USA to India, the actual shortest path dips way south near Antarctica. It's the same reason airplane routes look weird on flat maps. Your brain wants a straight line, but Earth's curvature says "not today, navigator!" Mathematicians are sitting in the corner smugly nodding while everyone else questions their entire understanding of navigation.

The Triangular Flight Of Fancy
Math Physics Science Earth-science
1 month ago 7.3K views 0 shares
The Triangular Flight Of Fancy
Someone clearly skipped their high school geometry classes. Flying higher doesn't mean traveling in a triangle! The Earth is curved, so the shortest path between two points is actually a great circle route (geodesic), not whatever this bizarre triangular flight path suggests. If pilots actually flew like this diagram, we'd all have enough time to watch the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy—extended editions—before landing. The real kicker? Even if this were true, the Pythagorean theorem is sobbing in the corner right now because those distances don't remotely add up. Next they'll tell us planes need to dodge the firmament.

I Failed My General Relativity Class
Physics Science Universe Astronomy
1 month ago 4.6K views 0 shares
I Failed My General Relativity Class
The meme shows a beautiful physics train wreck in action! It starts with legitimate general relativity concepts (geodesics being the paths objects follow in curved spacetime) but then derails spectacularly into flat Earth nonsense. The character begins by correctly explaining that geodesics are straight lines in spacetime and that objects follow these paths. He even correctly notes that objects moving fast enough can orbit a planet. But then comes the hilarious logical collapse - suddenly claiming Earth's surface is a straight line and therefore the Earth must be flat! It's like watching someone solve a complex equation perfectly until the very last step where they divide by zero and proudly declare "therefore, unicorns exist!" Einstein would be facepalming so hard right now.

When Your "Straight Line" Depends On Dimension
Earth-science Science Oceanography
4 months ago 8.2K views 0 shares
When Your "Straight Line" Depends On Dimension
The meme beautifully captures the collision between map projections and spatial reasoning! The original tweet claims you can sail from India to the USA in a "straight line" without touching land, showing a curved path on a flat map. But here's the mind-bender: that curved line is actually geodesically straight in 3D space! When sailing across a spherical Earth, the shortest path (a "straight line" in navigation terms) follows what's called a great circle. On flat Mercator projections, these great circles appear curved because... well, you're squishing a sphere onto a rectangle! The commenters missing this concept is pure comedy gold. It's like watching someone argue that the Earth is flat while standing on a globe!