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> about 20% of the population could not cope with a map that wasn't aligned with the direction they were going That's me. I have a tough time orienting maps in

> about 20% of the population could not cope with a map that wasn't aligned with the direction they were going That's me. I have a tough time orienting maps in my head. I still use a mnemonic for compass directions and (occasionally) use my left hand as an L to make sure I'm not screwing it up. I don't know if there is any research into what the structural differences of brains that suffer from this might be, let alone if there is a name for it.

callinyouin 10y ago
I have a problem with directions / general spatial awareness that sounds similar to what you have. I have a hard time plotting a route to a known location in my head in the city I've lived in for 10+ years, but strangely have no problem getting there once I start driving/biking/walking (depending on how familiar I am with the destination, obviously). I've made it a point to study maps and randomly test whether or not I can point out cardinal directions when I'm out and about and that seems to have helped a bit, but I have a hard time navigating new and unfamiliar places. Truly big cities like Chicago are impossible to navigate. I don't know what I'd do without GPS.
aplusbi 10y ago
It sounds like you might have some form of Topographical Disorientation: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25578-mindscapes-the-woman-who-gets-lost-in-her-own-home/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25578-mindscapes-the-... Every once in awhile (maybe a couple times a month) I'll have this sort of experience (though not as dramatic) where everything is a mirror image. I expect a store to be on the opposite side of the street for example, and it's momentarily disorienting. I've learned to not rely on my intuition when navigating.
- mmastrac 10y ago
  Interesting, it might be related. I only have it while driving or walking in unfamiliar places, but it does sound very similar. The article notes that the researcher who diagnosed her lives in the same city I do.
learn_more 10y ago
If you train yourself to use a static orientation however, you develop a much better "big picture" awareness of the city you drive in, eventually freeing yourself from requiring navigational assistance. The additional cognitive load is worth it for me.
- ChristianBundy 10y ago
  Could it be possible that this may be easier for you than it is for the person you're replying to? Here's my understanding of the conversation that just happened: A: I have trouble doing Z. B: Many people have trouble doing Z! Interestingly enough, many X and Y also have trouble doing Z. C: I'm able to do Z, and I can tell you that the benefits are worth the cost.
  - learn_more 10y ago
    I'm simply pointing out there is an often overlooked benefit to using navigation with a static map orientation. For folks who are "bad at directions" this may help them fix that deficit.
- deleted 10y ago
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- deleted 10y ago
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- Arizhel 10y ago
  I can't imagine why you wouldn't want navigational assistance. The only time I drive without my GPS is if I'm going somewhere I go frequently, along a route I normally travel, and it's a short distance. Any place new, and I'm using GPS, and even if I'm going someplace familiar, and I'm familiar with the route, if it's a good distance away I use the GPS anyway to make sure I don't miss a turn and also, very importantly, to reroute me according to traffic conditions. I don't care how good you think your knowledge of the roads in a city are: there is no possible way that you can know that there's a traffic jam or accident along your normal route (unless you're like Paul Atreides). A traffic-aware GPS system will alert you to these things and reroute you if possible. The thing that's valuable about having that "big picture" awareness of your city is in being able to second-guess the GPS when it gives you bad information, which is rare but it does happen because they're not perfect, or to know that the route it's chosen will only save you 10 seconds but will take you through a residential area with speedbumps instead of a larger road meant for through traffic.
avar 10y ago
> I don't know if there is any research into [needing to > reorient maps when driving]. There is! One thing it's highly correlated with is whether you're either a heterosexual woman, or a homosexual man. There's a really good description of this and other brain attributes correlated with gender or male homosexuality in the BBC show "The Making of Me - John Barrowman". This specific part starts around 6m30s in: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6a063_the-making-of-me-john-barrowman-4-o_shortfilms http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6a063_the-making-of-me-joh... Here's an article about it in New Scientist, "Gay men read maps like women": https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7069-gay-men-read-maps-like-women/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7069-gay-men-read-map... That's not to suggest that you're either a homosexual man or a heterosexual woman based on this datapoint alone. There's of course plenty of people who don't fall into those groups who prefer to read maps that way, just to answer your question about whether there's research about it. Yeah, there's at least some research showing that spatial recognition is indicative of gender & sexual orientation.
- jansenv 10y ago
  This is extremely fascinating! It seems like an almost un-pc fact.
  - strawberrycough 10y ago
    Imagine that. Facts and political correctness in diametric opposition.
    - samirillian 10y ago
      Psssh
- DigitalJack 10y ago
  I'm an exception. Terrible sense of direction... My sister in law is an exception too. I swear she had a virtual map in her head that was always perfectly oriented. I actually prefer having a GPS map north up, so that I can train my brain to have a non-relative mental map so that once I orient myself to the compass I can figure out where to go. As it is, my mental map bears little resemblance to reality.
bambax 10y ago
Joey from Friends has to go into the map while in London https://youtu.be/oKCIMX2dsEc?t=40 https://youtu.be/oKCIMX2dsEc?t=40
QSIITurbo 10y ago
As for orienting the map, it's common practice in sports and army at least. You're _supposed_ to orient the map according to your surroundings and the direction you are facing. It's faster and less prone to errors.

callinyouin 10y ago

I have a problem with directions / general spatial awareness that sounds similar to what you have. I have a hard time plotting a route to a known location in my head in the city I've lived in for 10+ years, but strangely have no problem getting there once I start driving/biking/walking (depending on how familiar I am with the destination, obviously). I've made it a point to study maps and randomly test whether or not I can point out cardinal directions when I'm out and about and that seems to have helped a bit, but I have a hard time navigating new and unfamiliar places. Truly big cities like Chicago are impossible to navigate. I don't know what I'd do without GPS.

aplusbi 10y ago

It sounds like you might have some form of Topographical Disorientation: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25578-mindscapes-the-woman-who-gets-lost-in-her-own-home/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn25578-mindscapes-the-... Every once in awhile (maybe a couple times a month) I'll have this sort of experience (though not as dramatic) where everything is a mirror image. I expect a store to be on the opposite side of the street for example, and it's momentarily disorienting. I've learned to not rely on my intuition when navigating.

mmastrac 10y ago
Interesting, it might be related. I only have it while driving or walking in unfamiliar places, but it does sound very similar. The article notes that the researcher who diagnosed her lives in the same city I do.

learn_more 10y ago

If you train yourself to use a static orientation however, you develop a much better "big picture" awareness of the city you drive in, eventually freeing yourself from requiring navigational assistance. The additional cognitive load is worth it for me.

ChristianBundy 10y ago
Could it be possible that this may be easier for you than it is for the person you're replying to? Here's my understanding of the conversation that just happened: A: I have trouble doing Z. B: Many people have trouble doing Z! Interestingly enough, many X and Y also have trouble doing Z. C: I'm able to do Z, and I can tell you that the benefits are worth the cost.
- learn_more 10y ago
  I'm simply pointing out there is an often overlooked benefit to using navigation with a static map orientation. For folks who are "bad at directions" this may help them fix that deficit.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
Arizhel 10y ago
I can't imagine why you wouldn't want navigational assistance. The only time I drive without my GPS is if I'm going somewhere I go frequently, along a route I normally travel, and it's a short distance. Any place new, and I'm using GPS, and even if I'm going someplace familiar, and I'm familiar with the route, if it's a good distance away I use the GPS anyway to make sure I don't miss a turn and also, very importantly, to reroute me according to traffic conditions. I don't care how good you think your knowledge of the roads in a city are: there is no possible way that you can know that there's a traffic jam or accident along your normal route (unless you're like Paul Atreides). A traffic-aware GPS system will alert you to these things and reroute you if possible. The thing that's valuable about having that "big picture" awareness of your city is in being able to second-guess the GPS when it gives you bad information, which is rare but it does happen because they're not perfect, or to know that the route it's chosen will only save you 10 seconds but will take you through a residential area with speedbumps instead of a larger road meant for through traffic.

avar 10y ago

> I don't know if there is any research into [needing to > reorient maps when driving]. There is! One thing it's highly correlated with is whether you're either a heterosexual woman, or a homosexual man. There's a really good description of this and other brain attributes correlated with gender or male homosexuality in the BBC show "The Making of Me - John Barrowman". This specific part starts around 6m30s in: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6a063_the-making-of-me-john-barrowman-4-o_shortfilms http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6a063_the-making-of-me-joh... Here's an article about it in New Scientist, "Gay men read maps like women": https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7069-gay-men-read-maps-like-women/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn7069-gay-men-read-map... That's not to suggest that you're either a homosexual man or a heterosexual woman based on this datapoint alone. There's of course plenty of people who don't fall into those groups who prefer to read maps that way, just to answer your question about whether there's research about it. Yeah, there's at least some research showing that spatial recognition is indicative of gender & sexual orientation.

jansenv 10y ago
This is extremely fascinating! It seems like an almost un-pc fact.
- strawberrycough 10y ago
  Imagine that. Facts and political correctness in diametric opposition.
  - samirillian 10y ago
    Psssh
DigitalJack 10y ago
I'm an exception. Terrible sense of direction... My sister in law is an exception too. I swear she had a virtual map in her head that was always perfectly oriented. I actually prefer having a GPS map north up, so that I can train my brain to have a non-relative mental map so that once I orient myself to the compass I can figure out where to go. As it is, my mental map bears little resemblance to reality.

bambax 10y ago

Joey from Friends has to go into the map while in London https://youtu.be/oKCIMX2dsEc?t=40 https://youtu.be/oKCIMX2dsEc?t=40

QSIITurbo 10y ago

As for orienting the map, it's common practice in sports and army at least. You're _supposed_ to orient the map according to your surroundings and the direction you are facing. It's faster and less prone to errors.