Hi All!
Great - a first post - AND a debate.....awesome!
)
Agree that North points North and South points South. Scientifically correct, and yes the main principle of a compass based on its magentised core. ;o)
However (let the debate continue
) ) If you label your North to be West and your South to be Mars then all you have done is changed the labeling of what you are reading, not of where North is.
This is the crux of the issue - we are misinterpreting what we are seeing. We are 'assuming' the display is showing a 'proper' compass - ie one where the reading is made from the 'top' of the instrument.
What is displayed in the MFD is purely the 'reading' or the 'label' of what you need to see, based on the location of where the reading is being taken (ie the bottom of the compass face). What is displayed
is showing your heading, but it's relattion to where North is on the dial/display is irrelevant.
If you were to hold a 'normal' compass in perspective to that shown on the MFD, you
would have a true indication of where North is - however, based on the fact the display is showing the heading/reading from the
bottom of the dial/scale, your heading would be 180 out.
Try it...trust me - I'm a doctor...

D
The simple fix to this would be a display that shows a 'normal' compass face and takes the heading reading from the top of the 'dial'.