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I grew up in a suburban community. Nothing was in walking distance and everywhere I went, I was driven. When my mom asked me where the roads were in our city,

I grew up in a suburban community. Nothing was in walking distance and everywhere I went, I was driven. When my mom asked me where the roads were in our city, I listed all the ones I could remember, but I listed none in order and missed a lot. My mom was perplexed, she said “how could you not know where the roads are? I drive you everywhere.” I think we don’t realize that the amount of control we have over a situation changes our memory of the situation. There’s no reason to remember if there’s no impact of knowing, despite being present in the same situation. I think this can answer why online classes are hard, why some students don’t learn from lectures and why there’s wisdom in the phrase “you learn by doing”.

DonHopkins 7y ago
The first time I drove my own car to the mall and parked it deep in the huge parking lot, I went in, did some shopping, then realized that I had completely spaced on remembering where I parked, because every other time in my life, whoever was driving took care of that for me, and I just followed them back to their car. I'm sure there were times I remembered where my driver had parked, but until the first time I drove to the mall myself, I wasn't in the habit of conscientiously making note of where I parked.
- tibbydudeza 7y ago
  I normally take a photo or press the remote key fob to see where the heck I parked my car (the turn signals flash)> Currently there is a big learner driver sign on my back window for my kid so it helps a now.
cgriswald 7y ago
Maybe I’m a freak but I always knew where I was going. I could tell you the street names and guide you turn by turn. What I lacked was knowledge of the side streets I’d never been taken down, or how to get from A to C without going through B. Or how to get somewhere new. But I would always pay attention to where we were going (partially because I get car sick); and I’d look down side streets and wonder where they went or what was down that way. And when I would move into a new neighborhood I would explore all the streets. (I still did that when I moved into my new house five years ago.) Once I got my license it was almost like explosions going off in my head as I turned a corner and realized A is only a couple blocks from C, or Smith Road turns into Johnson Road and that whole thing is connected somehow.

DonHopkins 7y ago

The first time I drove my own car to the mall and parked it deep in the huge parking lot, I went in, did some shopping, then realized that I had completely spaced on remembering where I parked, because every other time in my life, whoever was driving took care of that for me, and I just followed them back to their car. I'm sure there were times I remembered where my driver had parked, but until the first time I drove to the mall myself, I wasn't in the habit of conscientiously making note of where I parked.

tibbydudeza 7y ago
I normally take a photo or press the remote key fob to see where the heck I parked my car (the turn signals flash)> Currently there is a big learner driver sign on my back window for my kid so it helps a now.

cgriswald 7y ago

Maybe I’m a freak but I always knew where I was going. I could tell you the street names and guide you turn by turn. What I lacked was knowledge of the side streets I’d never been taken down, or how to get from A to C without going through B. Or how to get somewhere new. But I would always pay attention to where we were going (partially because I get car sick); and I’d look down side streets and wonder where they went or what was down that way. And when I would move into a new neighborhood I would explore all the streets. (I still did that when I moved into my new house five years ago.) Once I got my license it was almost like explosions going off in my head as I turned a corner and realized A is only a couple blocks from C, or Smith Road turns into Johnson Road and that whole thing is connected somehow.