It struck me that if and when I jog I tend to do it around parks in an anti-clockwise direction and for no apparent reason. The vast majority of my fellow ‘athletes’ do likewise. I think I also remember the mass Sunday morning jog around a portion of Central Park in New York also taking that direction.
So I’m wondering two things:
(1)Am I correct in thinking most people have a natural inclination to jog anti-clockwise (to the right ?), and
(2) If I were to exercise in Sydney, Australia would I still be inclined to jog my natural anti-clockwise whilst there in which case I’d actually jog clockwise, being upside down an’ all ?
Here’s my theory: since we write in the left-to-right direction, we think of that direction as forward. When you come up to a path or track and have no reason to pick one direction over the other, you are more likely to turn right.
Thanks BobT but I’m not sure that quite hits the spot. Discounting organised events (“they do it this way round so perhaps we should also”) and mechanical devices (could be just convention) leaves only the interesting human preference for skating around ice-rinks in an anti-clockwise direction.
scr4 - well, maybe…
I say this in hushed tones but Cecil seems unusually circumspect on this one…………
My stronger leg is my right leg. The outside leg would seem to do more work when you run, as it’s responsible for pushing you “inwards”. Hence, putting the right(generally stronger) leg on the outside.
I have no idea why it is like this, but I have heard Lawmill’s theory before and find it very plausible. However, it does not explain why I move in an anti-clockwise direction even when I’m not actually running, ie when I mark trails for the Hash House Harriers (“The Drinking Club with a Running Problem”). I can’t say that I have kept records of the trails I have layed, but a guesstimation is that some 90% of them have been anti-clockwise (the remaining 10% have been deliberate efforts not to).
BTW: Wouldn’t it be more accurate to describe anti-clockwise as “to the left”?
Well, MY left leg is stronger, and I jog parks anti-clockwise as well, in the rare ocasion that I actually DO jog
Why would it be different in Sydney, L_C? Does the earth’s spin mess with your balance that much? Because I don’t tend to notice it, myself. Well, not whilst sober, anyway.
Coldie, Ahh! But I wonder if that’s because you perceive that (consciously or not) as being the conventional or correct way to jog because you see others doing it - I worry that this is a circular argument, but lets not decide which direction.
Got to tell you, a lot of people think I’m a little like the confused neighbour in Seinfeld.
Why Sydney: It’s based on the conclusive experience ( ) of having just traced my finger around the rim of a saucer, then moving the finger to the other side and, while still moving the finger in the same direction, turning the saucer underside up, I find I’m moving my finger clockwise. Also, isn’t this related to the water disappearing down the plug hole thing (anti-clockwise here, clockwise down under) - the gravity malarkey ?. Actually, I don’t know………but I’d like to
All this reminds me of one of my favourite quotations (from a WW2 code breaker at Bletchley Park):
“Which way round does a clock go ?”
“Clockwise”
“Not if you’re the clock”
I eat salad.
Ah. But don’t some cultures write the other way? I think Hebrew, Arabic, and Japanese are written right-to-left (and in the case of Japanese, right-to-left and vertically).
On-On, Floater! Always nice to meet a Brother Hasher.
But I’m confused. Why would a hash trail, which typically goes from point A to point B, be characterizable as “clockwise” or “anticlockwise?” Do you mean you lay circle jerks anticlockwise?
Yes, and it would be interesting to observe joggers in those cultures. Any volunteers in Hebrew or Arabic speaking countries? I’m in Japan but I don’t think that would work - left-to-right writing is very common in Japan nowadays.
Still, try writing two arrows on a piece of paper, one pointing to the right and one to the left. I think you’ll find that the rightward arrow looks more natural, more pleasent to look at. Also, a portrait or a photo of a vehicle looks very different depending on which way the subject is facing.
I don’t seem to have too strong a preference in jogging clockwise or not, although I might actually tend to go anti-clockwise. Actually where I have been jogging most often in the past year, it has depended on the terrain, sun, etc.
To answer the other question, I just got back from Jerusalem and I didn’t notice any difference in directional preferences, although most joggers just run through the insane traffic any way they can. In fact, I didn’t find anywhere nice and safe to run, if anything there is safe anymore…
The Thrill - Sun, you have sun ! ? Sounds a little as if you don’t have a regualr time or circuit ? I guess it needs a regular pattern to see a trend. **
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Well, I don’t exactly have a regular country to live in at the moment, but German summers usually provide enough sun so that I have to decide whether I want to face the sun or not. At the moment, there is miraculously sun here, too (I take it I’m not very far from you, if you’re calling from London.)
