There is a theory that pathfinding is actually one of the substantial reasons why humans evolved our long-term memory and expanded brain size.
There’s also a mnemonic strategy called “method of loci” that involves memorizing a list of things by picturing a route you know well and imagining things from the list in places along the route.
There is a theory that pathfinding is actually one of the substantial reasons why humans evolved our long-term memory and expanded brain size.
There’s also a mnemonic strategy called “method of loci” that involves memorizing a list of things by picturing a route you know well and imagining things from the list in places along the route.
My guess is that this lack of geographic knowledge due to GPS, which is a very real thing, is not good for us. I try to turn mine off whenever I’m in DC, where I learned the roads before the smartphone era.
I always know where I am in terms of N/S/W/E and it drives me crazy when people use "down" or "up" interchangeably or with no regard to whether it is north or south. "Go up that road.." But that's south, man. You go down it, not up it.
Some animals do have bigger brains than humans, and indeed many larger mammals have very good memory of places (“an elephant never forgets”). It’s more about the ratio of brain areas; a large hippocampus is what drives spatial memory, as well as how many connections there are within it.
There is a theory that pathfinding is actually one of the substantial reasons why humans evolved our long-term memory and expanded brain size.
There’s also a mnemonic strategy called “method of loci” that involves memorizing a list of things by picturing a route you know well and imagining things from the list in places along the route.
My guess is that this lack of geographic knowledge due to GPS, which is a very real thing, is not good for us. I try to turn mine off whenever I’m in DC, where I learned the roads before the smartphone era.
I always know where I am in terms of N/S/W/E and it drives me crazy when people use "down" or "up" interchangeably or with no regard to whether it is north or south. "Go up that road.." But that's south, man. You go down it, not up it.
But don't animals have way better pathfinding skills than humans? Wouldn't they develop bigger brains, too?
Some animals do have bigger brains than humans, and indeed many larger mammals have very good memory of places (“an elephant never forgets”). It’s more about the ratio of brain areas; a large hippocampus is what drives spatial memory, as well as how many connections there are within it.
There’s a really fantastic book called Wayfinding by M.R. O’Connor that explores these topics. Definitely recommend!