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I read street maps a lot as a child (was a loner) and to this day I still view cities as being different colors (like when you see a map of a metropolitan area) and when I'm driving, landmarks mean almost nothing to me in most cases, I see the streets as lines on a map even now.
I only know about 5 or 6 interstate exits by their number. I don't do much interstate driving, but even when I lived close to one I never paid much attention to their numbers. I never seem to get disoriented in the daytime. Maps, even crudely drawn ones, are second nature for me. Nighttime on strange roads is a whole other ball of wax, though.
I think it's all in having a good memory. After I retired, I took a job driving a school bus for a large suburban school system. We have 1200 buses serving over 200 schools, with over 7000 individual routes in a 400 square mile County.
Most drivers have an assigned set of 3 to 4 routes, which is easy to learn. But buses break down and drivers sometimes just don't show up...that's where I come in. I'm a relief driver, so I just sit on the side of the road and listen to the radio and when a bus doesn't show up and parents are calling, they call me to go do the run. The bus is already late when I get the call, so I have to get there fast (without breaking any laws, of course!) and get those kids to school. And these routes are usually off the main drag in large subdivisions with dozens of streets. And even if I know exactly where the first stop on a run is...I have to approach it from the right direction so the kids don't have to cross the street to board the bus. After the first stop, it's easy...there's almost always a sensible kid that knows the run and will help me. (little kids are much better than big kids, though, LOL).
I was an engineer in a previous life...maybe that's a factor, because I'm pretty good at this bus gig, if I do say so myself. After 8 years, it's pretty rare that I have to bust out the map (no GPS allowed). Biggest hazard is mistakenly going down a dead end street where there is NO WAY to turn a 40 foot bus around....and having to back all the way out of there...and rear engine buses have very poor visibility to the rear!
I can't tell you what's ahead before i get there, but I can go nearly anywhere with no map. That doesn't mean my way is the mmost direct, and certainly not the fastest, but I can navigate North with no tools, on a shady day, and can be close blind folded.
The blind fold is a gag, since in my normal corse of things I know where the wind is from at most any given moment in a day. SO long as there is wind or sun I can tell north.
I only use a map if there is something I want to see, or I need to be some place ASAP.
A city is a whole other matter since they have man made roads, some one way, so while I know which way I want to go, sometimes i can't go that way.
I use my GPS as a basic guide, to give me a general idea of where I am going if it's somewhere I am not familiar with. But I do have my own sense of direction and rarely get lost. Always had the ability to find locations, maybe being a pizza delivery driver when I was young helped, lots of people don't have their numbers up (idiots) so you gotta play detective in finding the right house.
I also work on my own car. And yes, it's a newer car/ 08 Civic. Very easy to work on btw.
One thing I've noticed with some people who use GPS is that some of them seem so dependent upon it that they don't seem to be able to find their way around as easily.
One lady I used to work with had to go to a place once a month--same building--she needed the GPS every time. I used to wonder how she found her way home.
I have an excellent sense of direction. To the point that it can be annoying to Mrs. Tek. On the other hand I constantly screw up right and left. One of her favorite sayings is "The other Left." In fact when I took my first driving test (with a state trooper) I turned right when he told me to turn left. Didn't even phase him. Makes me think I was only one of many to do so.
I always know what time it is within a few minutes. I never wear a watch. Not because I know what time it is, but because I can't stand to wear jewelry, including my wedding ring which resides in Mrs. Tek's jewelry box.
I have always been good at reading maps and finding my way around.
I have the absolute worst sense of direction in the history of all mankind. In fact, I'm pretty sure I could get lost looking for a corner in a square room. I do have one savant power related to maps and directions though, and it has saved my butt more than once. The way it works is if I am in an unfamiliar area and my gut tells me to go right, I know I need to turn left. If I choose to go left, I'll end up headed in the "right" direction.
I have the absolute worst sense of direction in the history of all mankind. In fact, I'm pretty sure I could get lost looking for a corner in a square room. I do have one savant power related to maps and directions though, and it has saved my butt more than once. The way it works is if I am in an unfamiliar area and my gut tells me to go right, I know I need to turn left. If I choose to go left, I'll end up headed in the "right" direction.
LOL, Once out hiking in my own town in the Mt's, i wasn't lost but was in a new place and heading down and to home. I came upon a brook flowing north. That just doesn't happen. It was totally wrong, and i decided to find out why. By all rights it should have flowed east or south, or something between, and it did in a while.
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iknowftbll
I'm pretty good at reading maps. Roadmaps and topographic. Big difference between the two. l tell my wife she doesn't need a GPS when she has me. Oddly enough, she uses the GPS more than she asks me for directions. Am I obsolete?
You just need a update to iknowftbll 4.0.
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Am I obsolete?
