AHC: The Eye in the Sky - Mare Orientale faces Earth

[Graham]

Another challenge for the board, for my last, see the long ago thread "A Mote of Dust" (https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=184090)

It's a simple one, what would the effects be had the Moon become tidally locked with Mare Orientale (Wikipedia) facing the Earth rather than the "Man in the Moon"?

 

[Arrix85]

Why the Moon would be differently locked in? An big asteroid's impact slightly spins it?

On another note: I assume by how the challenge is phrased that the moon would have the same mass and the same configuration so essentialy the changes on Earth would be nil.

 

[Max Sinister]

That's an interesting thought. Certainly the legends would be different. (Admittedly, they already aren't universal - western people see a "man in the moon", the Japanese believe in a "moon rabbit".)

But it would be pretty hard to tell how this influences human history. Especially since the changes would begin in the stone age.

 

[wolf_brother]

So instead of a face a giant eyeball

 

[zoomar]

I don't see how the image of a giant eye in the night sky couldn't be missed. I agree that the effect on human religion and natural philosophy could be significant. One idea that just crossed my mind is that the "eye in the sky" might have the somewhat paradoxical effect of (1) making people more apt to conform to social expectations (laws) without outright coercion because they are obviosuly being watched by the gods or god, while at the same time (2) eliminating/minimizing the notion of individual privacy and fostering a more powerful and intrusive governmental power structure to make sure people are behaving properly when the eye is sleeping (new), or missing (not in view). Furth speculations are: perhaps the moon, not the sun, would be seen as the principal light in the sky, parallel lunar and solar calendars might be common, with the solar used only for agriculture and the lunar for everything else, etc.

 

[Dupplin Muir]

"I see what you did there!"

 

[Hnau]

That's an interesting thought. Certainly the legends would be different. (Admittedly, they already aren't universal - western people see a "man in the moon", the Japanese believe in a "moon rabbit".)

But it would be pretty hard to tell how this influences human history. Especially since the changes would begin in the stone age.

The moon rabbit is what northeastern Brazilians see as well, hah.

 

[Arrix85]

The thread isn't kinda pointless untill is clear on why the Moon is different? depending on that the changes could be so massive that humanity wouldn't even exist...