Do we Humans have a directional sense?

[charles brough]

I have long noticed that when I drive, I have a sense of what is parallel to the other ways to get to my objective. I base when I turn on that sense. However, I also note that my wife instead uses landmarks to know when to turn. I have also seen that this characteristic has been researched and documented.

 

One explanation is that since we evolved through millions of years of evolution in hunting-gathering groups, the men, as hunters, for some reason depended upon this directional sense more than did the women doing the gathering. It is also of note that when a man gets old, he can lose that directional sense completely. When he does, he is ashamed to admit it and resist having to ask for direction from someone. He is left without an important tool as he lacks the amazing ability of the women to use landmarks for directions.

 

It is not necessary for us to view migrating animals with quite such wonderment. We have it also . . .

[Athena]

I have prefect wrong way direction sense. I am sure if I kept a record of when I turn the wrong way, it would be at least 90 percent of the time, and I vaguely remember hearing of man with this condition. Like if I am not sure which to turn, I feel pulled to turn the wrong way so often, I am really surprised if it turns out to be right way. I try to out guess myself, knowing I have this problem, but usually end up going the wrong way. And is a sense of being pulled in the wrong direction.

 

One of my female friends drove a bus. She had a map of the city in her head, and a medical problem temporarily prevented her from accessing the map in her head.

 

Sun down syndrome is a condition that makes it impossible for a person to get directions right after sun down. I once drove in circles for 6 hours, and when the sun came up, I found my way to where I was going. It was the strangest thing. After that, I do not drive at night unless I am sure of the path and it is a simple one.

[charles brough]

I have prefect wrong way direction sense. I am sure if I kept a record of when I turn the wrong way, it would be at least 90 percent of the time, and I vaguely remember hearing of man with this condition. Like if I am not sure which to turn, I feel pulled to turn the wrong way so often, I am really surprised if it turns out to be right way. I try to out guess myself, knowing I have this problem, but usually end up going the wrong way. And is a sense of being pulled in the wrong direction.

 

One of my female friends drove a bus. She had a map of the city in her head, and a medical problem temporarily prevented her from accessing the map in her head.

 

Sun down syndrome is a condition that makes it impossible for a person to get directions right after sun down. I once drove in circles for 6 hours, and when the sun came up, I found my way to where I was going. It was the strangest thing. After that, I do not drive at night unless I am sure of the path and it is a simple one.

I had a normal male directional sense up until I began feeling my age. I could orient a town according to the points on a compass and always knew about where I was. In later years, however, One part of town seems completely wrong to the compass and to me even if that part is only a few blocks from where I live. There is one intersection where for years I know I have to turn right to get home but it always seems to me that home is to the left. The directional sense can be corrupted by age . . .

[Athena]

I had a normal male directional sense up until I began feeling my age. I could orient a town according to the points on a compass and always knew about where I was. In later years, however, One part of town seems completely wrong to the compass and to me even if that part is only a few blocks from where I live. There is one intersection where for years I know I have to turn right to get home but it always seems to me that home is to the left. The directional sense can be corrupted by age . . .

 

Yeah I read about this. There was mention that it could be hormonal. That just sounds too strange to me. We know plenty if behaviors are associated with hormones, but a sense of direction? Wow, how about a hormonal pill to improve our sense of direction. I would so try that. When I was young and felt invincible, I didn't mind being lost, because it was part of the adventure. Now age related problems leave me feeling very vulnerable and I don't take the trips out of town I want to take, the combination of being in trouble and being lost is not my idea of fun. I think if I could take a hormonal pill and gain a sense of direction, I would have a whole lot more self confidences and feel less vulnerable.

 

This sight is fascinating! It is about how birds find their direction. http://serendip.bryn...xchange/node/71 It should be noted, recent research has put the special cells in a pigeons beak in question. But what is said about genes and rhythms is fascinating, and I think it applies to humans, because in the spring, like a migrating bird I want to travel, and in the winter I am preparing my cave for a long stay. I mean these compulsions lead to irrational behavior, like having to get out of town in the spring, or buying stuff I don't need as we head into winter. When I was young, I satisfying this need to leave town by putting the kids in the car and going to visit my mother. I believe a compulsion to travel is inside of us, and fortunately most people have a sense of direction.

 

However, just for the sake of discussion. I have heard when people are lost they tend to go in a circle. This study says, when we don't have landmarks, we do go in circles http://news.discover...ng-circles.html

 

 

 

The blindfold experiment dispelled one theory -- that people might walk in circles because one leg tends to be longer or stronger than the other. Instead, Souman suspects that little mistakes in brain add up until the sense of what's straight turns into something round.

 

The results aren't necessarily surprising, said Randy Gallistel, a cognitive neuroscientist at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Most dead hikers, after all, are found within a mile, if not 100 meters from where they got lost.

 

Interestingly, birds bunch up in cloudy weather. I think this indicates they rely on each other more when they can't see the sun or moon. Maybe many brains are better at going the right direction than one brain when there is no sun? Would formation matter?

Edited May 25, 2012 by Athena