Posted: 2/24/2016 3:10:19 PM EDT
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http://phys.org/news/2016-02-magnetoreception-molecule-eyes-dogs-primates.html
When I was 5 years old we moved to Fla. It was there that I learned about the 4 cardinal directions etc. My house was on an avenue lined up due East-West. From that day forward I always had an innate sense of what direction I was going in the woods, in a car, flying etc, even without the immediate reference to a compass. I just intuitively KNEW what direction is was going. This included overseas travel in Europe as well as sailing in the Atlantic and the Caribbean. Just always seemed to be "oriented" ( not "orientated") to the world. Moved to Texas in 1994. My house is oriented on a SE-NW axis. Part of DFW is lined up on a NSEW grid, but a lot of it is somewhat random. Even after 22 years, I frequently find myself with no present sense of what direction I am traveling, without having to reference the compass in the car or some fixed structure or so. Anyone else experience this.............. |
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You ever drove somewhere and not been able to remember all the little details of the actual drive. Did you use your blinker at this or that intersection...did you switch lanes before that exit or the one before.
This is the same thing, once you learn, and codify all the details around doing a particular activity...AND you regularly use that skillset, it 'feels' second nature. But it isn't, it is a learned skill. You are noticing the sun, the stars, the landmarks, etc subconsciously and orienting yourself on the fly. Back when I was in the Military I was killer in land nav for the same reason. I couldn't teach it to anyone, but I just 'got it' and was able to navigate with little to no aids. |
Growing up in Florida I've had just the opposite experience. I-4 across Central Florida is labeled East-West but actually runs North-South through parts of downtown Orlando. As a result I could never navigate based on compass directions. I'm getting better now that I live in the Volunteer State but I may be a hopeless case due to conditioning in my early years. 
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Quoted:
Growing up in Florida I've had just the opposite experience. I-4 across Central Florida is labeled East-West but actually runs North-South through parts of downtown Orlando. As a result I could never navigate based on compass directions. I'm getting better now that I live in the Volunteer State but I may be a hopeless case due to conditioning in my early years. Yeah, that's kinda what I'm referring to here. Just never seem to be "dialed in" direction wise without looking for a reference point. Unlike before the move when I ALWAYS instinctively "knew" which way was which, no matter where I was at the time. Nice to know I'm not the only one. 
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Quoted:
Growing up in Florida I've had just the opposite experience. I-4 across Central Florida is labeled East-West but actually runs North-South through parts of downtown Orlando. As a result I could never navigate based on compass directions. I'm getting better now that I live in the Volunteer State but I may be a hopeless case due to conditioning in my early years. If you don't count i4 nearly all of the roads are EW NS in Orlando. |
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Quoted:
If you don't count i4 nearly all of the roads are EW NS in Orlando. Quoted:
Quoted:
Growing up in Florida I've had just the opposite experience. I-4 across Central Florida is labeled East-West but actually runs North-South through parts of downtown Orlando. As a result I could never navigate based on compass directions. I'm getting better now that I live in the Volunteer State but I may be a hopeless case due to conditioning in my early years. If you don't count i4 nearly all of the roads are EW NS in Orlando. Unfortunately that's the where I spent so much time as a youngster. The junction of I-4, traveling westbound, and the East-West Expressway just didn't compute to my ten year old mind (I rode with my dad a lot making deliveries on my school breaks). Travel west, take exit on perpendicular road and now we're going west. 
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