the.com/polarization
the trick of splitting one thing into two camps that no longer speak.
means The process by which a group, opinion, or physical phenomenon divides into two sharply opposed extremes with little remaining in the middle.
from From 'polar,' which comes via Latin from Greek 'polos,' the pivot or axis around which the heavens turn — the same root that gives us the North and South Poles. 'Polarization' began as a scientific word in optics and electricity, describing light or charges being forced toward opposite orientations; the figurative sense of people splitting into hostile opposites is a later borrowing of that physics into politics.
- light's secret
- Sunglasses cut glare by blocking one orientation of light
- bee vision
- Bees navigate using polarized skylight invisible to humans
- 3D movies
- Each lens filters opposite polarized light per eye
- physics origin
- Term dates to early 1800s optics, not politics
- magnetic cousin
- Magnets polarize iron, aligning chaotic domains into one
us congress party voting — 2023: 97% of republicans and democrats voted opposite on major bills, highest since tracking began in 1970s
india hindu muslim divide — 2002 gujarat riots killed 1,000+ in communal violence; 2023 still affects voting patterns and neighborhoods