3 ms·

I've always thought that this was the case. I have a very good memory for places. But I am terrible at remembering where places like relative to each other.

I've always thought that this was the case. I have a very good memory for places. But I am terrible at remembering where places like relative to each other. I grew up on a coastal town, where essentially every 'area' lay on a single highway. And after living there for ~15 years on and off, I could name almost every business in three towns, which ones had shut down and re-opened as something different, what had been swamp a few years before. Everything. But if I got in my car, and tried to drive to a specific location, I was completely useless. I could tell you what the building looked like, what was accross the street, what was next to it on either side. But I woukd be completely unable to tell you if it was north or south of me. I often had to navigate by mentally walking from building to building.

narag 8y ago
That's weird. For me it's the other way around. I can't remember things if I can't put them in the map. Watching places of my hometown in local TV, I have a bad time identifying them, even if they're very familiar, because I see them "out of context".
MarsAscendant 8y ago
> I often had to navigate by mentally walking from building to building. That's similar to how I navigate if I have to find out if there's a certain kind of business in proximity. I quickly "fly" down the street in one direction, see if there's what I need – say, a convenience store – for about a bus stop or two, then the other way. I'm looking in the direction I'm scouting, but my mind is wandering way further. I'm also quite capable of finding my way back to somewhere I'd been once, but I won't be able to tell you where it is on the map unless I find something memorable on it and orient myself similarly to above.