Why 360 degrees?

[FrankM]

We will never know who was originally responsible for dividing a circle into 360 segments, but we

do know it has become a common convention. The 360 degree convention may have been decreed

by a ruler many thousands of years ago (the usual method), but there is no current law

that states it must be used.

 

The English inch and foot are reputed to have been "decreed" by a King and these units became

the law of the land.

 

Seafarers may have been those responsible for spreading the 360 convention throughout the world,

as maps use the same positional notation. Consider the positioning of zero latitude. France wanted

it to go through Paris, the Spanish through Lisbon, but the biggest navy won. The old Piri Reis map

had zero latitude out in the Atlantic, no political favorites there; it may correspond to the exact

vertical position on earth when it passes through the defined precession point in 2012.

 

The definition of a degree is not part of the SI system of units.

 

Non-SI units

 

What we now have is an international agreement to use a decimal type system (metric) for many

types of measurements, which lumbers along pulling a base 60 time and angular measure system

and a few other non-decimal measurement conventions used in specific mercantile endeavors.

[Freethinker]

Originally posted by: Robust

What is your problem, Freethinker? I' m trying to be educative, not arguementitive.

You ARE being argumentitive. At what point did making unsubstantiated claims become "educative"?

These things are all easily researched on ther web.

A request was made for information.

Why 360 degrees?

YOU even made it:

Originally posted by: Robust

I wonder if there are others who, like myself, question why the circle is described by a circumference of 360 equally spaced angular degrees. Why not 240, 390 or some such?

I researched it (as you claim to suggest) and the answer I found was the Chaldean dynasty based on a 360 day year.

 

You made other claims (then why ask in the first place?).

 

I was curious as to what support you could provide because I was interested myself and if I ahd wrong info I wanted to know that.

 

But you refused to provide ANY support for your assertion. All you want to do is show that 360 IS used, based on various OTHER formulas.

 

And you want to call ME argumentitive?

 

If you already KNEW, why did you ask in the first place?

 

If you didn't, why did you argue?

 

If you HAVE support for your claims to the contrary, why are you refusing to show it?

 

If you don't, why can't you admit it?

[Robust]

Freethinker, you are the one who brought the Chaldean empire into the discussion. It most certainly had nothing to do with establishing the 360-degree circle

 

You say I have made unsubstantiated claims. To the contrary, I have but put forward a number of formulae both in this thread and the accompanying Squared Circle thread attempting to narrow down the origin of the 360-degree circle, and from which we might get a better glimpse of that intelligence which gave us the Base 10 number system and 360-degree circle. I trust you do not think we are the smartest people to have ever walked this planet

 

On the other hand, I do appreciate the opposition....if only we can keep it on track.

 

 

"All things number and harmony." - Pythagoras

[Robust]

On proper reflection I find the given formula diameter/180 degrees to be a final proving of "Why 360 Degrees?" - by reason that it gives a complete series of ordinate and abcissas coordinates of equal right angle dimension, confirming by the Pythagorean theorem the degree distance between each angular degree on the circumference.

 

So, what great value a forum such as this is - where one has the opportunity to air-out their thinkings among responsive people. Thank you one and all!

 

 

"All things number and harmony." - Pythagoras