What Happens Inside Our Brains When We Navigate?

SeaBreeze

SeaBreeze

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How good are you at navigating, either finding your way around town or out in the woods on a hike? Share what you think your score is on being a good navigator.

I'm terrible at reading maps, finding my way around by car especially in unfamiliar areas, or outdoors in the wild. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best), I'd rate myself as a 2. My husband on the other hand is at least a 9, so we balance each other out when traveling or hiking.
There's a 30 minute podcast in link for those interested, I heard this on a public radio show today.

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/26/1075761186/whats-happening-inside-our-brains-when-we-navigate

Most of us also know how good we are at navigating. If you rate yourself on a scale of one to ten, a scientific test will likely give you about the same score.

Scientist and science writer Christopher Kemp rates himself a one out of ten. He sometimes gets lost in his own neighborhood. His lack of navigation skills align with a condition known as developmental topographical disorientation, or DTD, which is passed down genetically. His wife, in comparison, is excellent at finding her way, and can easily orient herself in new places. That stark contrast inspired an investigation into the neuroscience of navigation.
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About a 5, and I have tried real hard to be better.

I worked my way through college with the Forest Service and had to read lots of topo maps and aerial photos to try and find my way. In those day a compass was the only navigation tool we had, long before GPS. I really tried but never was able to do any better than the average. Got lost plenty of times, but always got out alive.
 
I used to be really good at navigating(thank you Boy Scouts + U.S.Army), if I was somewhat unfamiliar with an area, I could "dead reckon" back to familiar turf easily. But, navigation is an acquired skill and needs regular practice. In recent years my dead reckoning skills have faded, since retirement. Navigating via smartphone / Google Maps makes life simple!
 
I'm minus 0, as soon as we got married I left the driving to my hubby so any sense of direction went out the window, lol

I was to busy looking at the scenery or keeping the kids from killing each other than to pay attention to where we were or how we got there..
These days I find a nap is always part of the trip.

When I was in kindergarten we stood in a circle and sang a song, which I think was called "Little Sally Waters".
I can't remember the whole song but part of the lyrics was, "Little Sally Waters, turn to the East, turn to the West. turn to the one you like best.
I was always facing in the wrong direction than the other kids. I started young.
 
Alligatorob said:
About a 5, and I have tried real hard to be better.

I worked my way through college with the Forest Service and had to read lots of topo maps and aerial photos to try and find my way. In those day a compass was the only navigation tool we had, long before GPS. I really tried but never was able to do any better than the average. Got lost plenty of times, but always got out alive.
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We've never used GPS, but have used topo maps, BLM maps and national forest maps. My husband does really well with driving and walking in the wild, also traveling on remote rivers in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, etc. Without him by my side, I do not stray too far off the paths.
 
Ruth n Jersey said:
I'm minus 0, as soon as we got married I left the driving to my hubby so any sense of direction went out the window, lol

I was to busy looking at the scenery or keeping the kids from killing each other than to pay attention to where we were or how we got there..
These days I find a nap is always part of the trip.

When I was in kindergarten we stood in a circle and sang a song, which I think was called "Little Sally Waters".
I can't remember the whole song but part of the lyrics was, "Little Sally Waters, turn to the East, turn to the West. turn to the one you like best.
I was always facing in the wrong direction than the other kids. I started young.
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Sounds a bit like me Ruth. I do pull out a forest map while we're driving on vacation if I have to, but for the most part I just look out the window and enjoy the scenery and wildlife. I need to learn that Little Sally Waters song, lol. :)

 
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I'm terrible at navigating. I always use Google Maps unless I'm in familiar territory. My partner always tells me it is sometimes good to get lost to learn the area but I think he just hopes I won't make it back home. :ROFLMAO: When we're driving together he always tells me not to use GPS but then I end up turning at the last minute because he doesn't really know where we're going.

I don't even turn the right way when I'm leaving a hotel room. No sense of direction. That part of my brain is missing.
 
dseag2 said:
I'm terrible at navigating. I always use Google Maps unless I'm in familiar territory. My partner always tells me it is sometimes good to get lost to learn the area but I think he just hopes I won't make it back home. :ROFLMAO: When we're driving together he always tells me not to use GPS but then I end up turning at the last minute because he doesn't really know where we're going.

I don't even turn the right way when I'm leaving a hotel room. No sense of direction. That part of my brain is missing.
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I also get turned around in medical buildings, malls, rarely go to hotels but it would be the same there. I even dream about getting lost and having trouble finding my way somewhere.
 
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Have hiked and overnight backpacked all my adult life especially off trail cross country through landscapes. Have a tall pile of USGS topographic maps and in unfamiliar zones often travel with map in hand. Over decades that has developed an exceptional ability to navigate through subtleties of mountainous terrain.

In a modern era where thousands of serious photographers ramble about The West, and pick apart clues online of where to take photos, there are still vast areas where no humans have set foot in decades, and modest areas where no humans have ever walked. Most such areas are not easy to reach because they are well away from roads and are beyond trails. And the majority are in arid wilderness areas where drinking water is usually absent most of the year that limits how far one might backpack into. I can brag that I've been to a long list of such places most without names many would like to know about but no other humans know about because like fishermen, I know when to keep my lips sealed. The above image with bizarre orange and gray-blue geology is from Death Valley National Park several day hiking miles from nearest roads. Last time anyone probably walked the area was several decades ago when miners searched high and low like ants where no others had reason to trek.
 
as a kid, family vacations were often roadtrips... some easily on a par with Clark Griswold and family. when needed, we used actual paper maps!! i could quickly refold into original form but could NOT read the map as we drove... within 1-2 minutes... serious nausea (car sickness) would start to set in. since we were often trailblazing in dad's big green ford station wagon... dad NEVER got lost... just sometimes not sure exactly where he was.:rolleyes:

i don't have GPS... it's a bit of a can't walk & chew gum thing. i go old school and mapquest directions... then write out condensed version in sharpie to lay on passenger seat... just a quick glance to the right as driving.

i live not far from philly... NOT a city driver and rarely have to drive myself. i'm often not sure where i am, but usually good sense of NS or EW... skill from dad?
 
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Maybe a 6 or 7.

I'm fine when I'm on foot in the city.

I have had a couple of panicky moments when I've gotten turned around in the forest. After I calm myself down and take stock of my situation I've always been able to find my way.

I have trouble when driving and often have to backtrack because of traffic, one-way streets, and other distractions.
 
One of my fondest memories about my dad was he ALWAYS knew a shortcut, even if he'd never been there before. And his "shortcuts" landed up on a dirt road, way out in the sticks. Time after time, we ended up on dirt roads, 20 miles past Nowhere. I lived in Queens, NYC, in the 70s. My parents drove down to visit me. He wound up on a dirt road in the middle of NYC! Probably in his DNA.
 
I don’t bother figuring out directions, I load the information into gps and drive accordingly. I see how relying on electronics depletes brain activity and cognition skills.
 

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