When I realized that EAST/WEST is not a straight line like NORTH/SOUTH is, that changed my perspective on everything. Following the compass EAST will require you to turn slightly to the left to stay going EAST. Following the compass WEST will require you to turn slightly to the right to stay on course. Traveling due EAST or WEST without adjusting to the "curvature" will eventually take you off course to the SOUTH.

It's claimed that if you follow a compass south, then east, then north you'll end up where you began. This is true, but does not prove a ball. The reality is that North will always lead to a central point, south always leads away from that central point, and east (and west) will always circle around that central point. Straight south, curved east, straight north - like a slice of !PIZZA.

This is how I overcame the pacman map view of the world, which didn't make any sense at all. I assumed EAST/WEST were a straight line and a person would teleport to the other side. Going "around the world" by going EAST or WEST, completing a circle, makes a lot more sense to me now. !LOLZ