[Augustine23653]

I need some confirmation that I am not totally weird on this issue. I can use a map just fine, and if I am shown where someplace is on a map, I can get there with no problem, using a combination of map navigation, ‘remembering the route’ (in general terms) if I’ve been there before, and dead-reckoning (spotting the sun and shadows combined with a general sense of direction, distance and elapsed time). Yet nobody else I know seems to get around like this! It seems like everyone else I know relies on an elaborate combination of spoken directions, landmarks and counting stoplights and intersections. I couldn’t tell you how many stoplights are between my house and the mall to save my life. It’s something I’ve never paid attention to and information that I don’t need to carry around in my head. If someone gives me spoken directions, I can follow them only if I write them down verbatim. This may not seem like a big deal, but I almost got into a shouting match with a friend some time ago, all because he couldn’t understand why I was unable to assimilate his spoken directions without writing them down. Wouldn’t it be much more intelligent to use maps, combined with a general sense of direction? And why do people assume that you can ‘lock onto’ a strange, byzantine verbal narrative of directions for which you have no frame of reference because you’ve never taken that route before?

User Detail :  

Name : Augustine23653, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 39, City : Columbia, State : SC, Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Mickey M.]

I’ve noticed females use directions from place to place much the same way you describe. Men don’t want to defer from the course, and will always take the same way to a location. They are better at remembering street names and house numbers. Women use landmarks and general direction. When I worked at a gas station, women asking for directions would inevitably ask, ‘What’s it near?’ while men always wanted directions drawn out from street to street. It’s just one of those things we can all laugh about in private concerning the other sex.

User Detail :  

Name : Mickey M., Gender : M, Religion : Catholic, Age : 18, City : Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Longshoreman, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Dan31699]

I also prefer maps. I feel like I’m wandering aimlessly in the woods without one. When I leave my desert outpost and attempt to negotiate the scrambled matrix of asphalt that is Los Angeles, I’m dead meat without a map. My dad feels the same way, and carries three or four different Thomas Guides in his car at all times. Many times I’ll plan my route with a map. If I have to go to the city on short notice, I’ll either bring a map with me or buy one when I get down there. I can only go by directions if they give me specific street names and addresses. If it’s ‘turn left at the truck depot and then go past the Tommy Burger shack and…’, unless I am already familiar with the area I will most certainly get lost (or have a rather prolonged journey in finding the place).

As for intuition, that only helps when I’m hiking, or if I’ve been in the place before, or I’m close to a place that I’ve been before. But maps are the best. If it weren’t for them I’d probably have ended up sleeping in my car more than a few times.

User Detail :  

Name : Dan31699, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), Religion : Pentecostal Christian, Age : 21, City : Los Angeles area, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[SR28490]

Wow, that’s a dizzying question. I always have to write directions down verbatim, too, but I have to do that with nearly everything. I think my short-term memory is shot. As far as methods for finding a place go, I’ve heard that men generally do better with ‘east-west’ directions and women generally do better with ‘left-right’ directions. My head isn’t a compass, so for me it’s easier to ‘take a left at the 7-11’ than ‘go west after a mile.’ When I was first learning to drive, I was much worse. All directions had to be given to me in relation to my high school or the mall. And I have to tell you, I think your friend sounds a little nuts if he got angry because you wrote the directions down.

User Detail :  

Name : SR28490, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 22, City : Austin, State : TX, Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[D-Nicholson]

When reading this, I thought I was reading about myself. For years, I’ve had trouble with elaborate spoken directions without writing them down. And even when written, I have to format them so that they’re easy to read while driving. I find it much easier to rely upon my sense of direction than those provided by others. Like you, I tend to use the sun/shadows to determine a general direction. I do a lot of hiking so I find it’s easier to look on a topo map and find my destination rather than to read about all of the turn-offs I need to make in a trail book. What I find really interesting is that for years I’ve found it difficult to be taught card games and I suspect this is related to that.

User Detail :  

Name : D-Nicholson, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 36, City : Seattle, State : WA, Country : United States, Occupation : Technical Manager, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Upper class, 

[Patrick Wood]

It has been proven by psychologists, at least to a certain extent, that people follow direction in different manners. The intelligent way of locating a specific address often depends on the person. I find it easier to use all the methods and resources at my disposal. In your case, if you did not understand their instructions, you should simply ask them to clarify it in a different manner.

User Detail :  

Name : Patrick Wood, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 19, City : Niagara Falls, State : NA, Country : Canada, Occupation : Research Assistant, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Upper middle class, 

[Karl]

I have a passion for maps. I am good at their use. But when driving, it is often much easier to ‘turn left at the 7-11’ than it is to ‘turn north on Maple Road’. Maple Road may or may not have an easily visible sign, and I may or may not have a clear idea of compass direction in any given place. In LA, the signs tend to be good. Other places they are missing or small. Reading small signs is a dangerous distraction while driving a pile of steel in traffic!

User Detail :  

Name : Karl, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 44, City : Duesseldorf, State : NA, Country : Germany, Occupation : retired computer jock, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dave25967]

I know exactly what you mean, and for some reason it really annoys me, too. I get _extremely_ frustrated with repairmen coming for service calls (or the cable guy or whatever) when they are unable to find my house and have either constantly call me or just give up. If my job involved locating random addresses every day, I would surely invest 15 bucks in a street map! You look up the street name in the back to find it’s location. Also, if you live in an area for awhile, you should be familiar with the numbering system used in addressed…they are usually pretty regular. I also am baffled by most people’s inability to estimate their heading based on the sun. Based on your latitude, the time of day, and the season, it is easy to figure out your direction to within 20 degrees or so. If the sun can’t be seen because it’s overhead and you are driving, then you can look at shadows. Obviously this doesn’t work at night or in cloudy weather, but it’s still extremely useful. I think I developed this skill because my natural sense of direction is terrible.

User Detail :  

Name : Dave25967, City : Fort Lauderdale, State : FL, Country : United States, 

[ShirleyAvery]

Although I consider myself creative and primarily R brained, I rely on Mapquest and similar online mapping services to make sure I get to an unfamiliar place easily. Just Curious

User Detail :  

Name : ShirleyAvery, Gender : F, Disability : none, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 52, City : st. louis, State : MO, Country : United States, Occupation : writer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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