Are you African by any chance?

Nope just an American old enough to remember real physical paper maps. You don't put the most important part on the edge. (I believe the Chinese also use "central" to describe the leader or foremost member of a group though. It's fascinating to think about how language might unconsciously influence behavior)

there is no concept of "center" in the up-down paradigm discussed here. there IS center in other directionality-related abstractions however. like the center of the city, or the axis of the wheel, a centerpiece of an artwork. but the center-perimeter paradigm is very similar to the up-down one. if you want to put those 2 together you will get the vision of the mountain of which center is on the top, and its perimeter is at the bottom.