Have them project an imaginary line from where they stand and in the direction they are facing. Have them mark the numbers 1 2 3 in the ground as they walk forward. Now have them stand facing the number two. Now you say if you are standing left side of the line looking left to right the numbers would go 3,2,1 if you are standing on the right side looking left to right the numbers would go 1,2,3Edit: it's a bit silly though,
I think if they could understand our language well enough to convey complex scientific ideas like an atom and its size, then smart people could probably find a good way to convey direction
raincole|1 year ago
You completely missed the point of the original thought experiment. The whole experiment already assumes that the Martian understands the concept of direction perfectly. That's the premise of it.
The hard part is to convey which direction is which. It's a completely different thing from the concept of direction.
It's not about Martians is so stupid and we need to try very hard to make them even understand what direction is. It's about whether there is a universal and fundamental (as fundamental as elementary particles) reference to distinquish left and right.
> Now you say if you are standing left side of the line looking left to right the numbers would go 3,2,1 if you are standing on the right side looking left to right the numbers would go 1,2,3
The Martian doesn't know how to "looking left to right". He doesn't know which side is left. That's the whole point.