The "western hemisphere" rubs me the wrong way

https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/64271737

The "western hemisphere" rubs me the wrong way - Divisions by zero

As opposed to the northern/southern hemisphere that has: * a clear reference point (equators) * traditionally we don’t model a rotation north/south Western/eastern hemisphere * doesn’t have a clear reference (Greenwich?) * traditionally we model rotation on the north/south axis so western/eastern would depend from the time

Phrases like the the West or Middle East make sense when all relative to Great Britain in geography.

The British had colonies all over and the terms like middle east and the west stuck. It’s also the reason for the most common world map, the Mercator projection.

In UN proceedings the Middle East is referred to as West Asia.