The place information is does not need to be relearned as it does not move. We then leverage our spatial "lay of the land" skills to reassemble it in novel way

The place information is does not need to be relearned as it does not move. We then leverage our spatial "lay of the land" skills to reassemble it in novel ways with less effort. A "just so" explanation I like is it is a hold over from being a timid subterranean species. When an individual entered or left the borrow the threat model changed dramatically. Individuals that dumped their short term buffer reacted to escaped quicker (Poor Fred was deciding if the snake back there was worse than hawks and it flew off with him). On Refrigerator blindness it generally goes like; open the fridge, bask in the possibilities, and after a while my wife who is doing several things at once on the other side of the room states "cream" which brings the pre-fridge reality back into sharp relief.