[red rocket]

This is something I have been thinking about a lot recently:

You know how, the first time you have to locate something, say a specific room in a complex building, you tend to find it harder than on subsequent visits.

For the vast majority of people, locating the room subsequently depends on muscle memory. They have been there before, they remember how to get there.

In a sense, this is the dumb way of locating the room, and it probably took them too long to find it the first time.

The lazy way is to ask someone for directions, or follow a guide.

The intelligent way is working out in your head where the room is located based upon its function or number.

Oddly enough, most people don’t do it like that, so if you can teach yourself that skill, you will have gained a competitive advantage.

For starters, you’ll never get lost again. Ever. Anywhere. You’ll have an algorithm in your head that obviates the need for printed maps or gps systems.

Secondly, you will be able to find any object, anywhere, any time. You will not have to rely upon memory.

Now, there exist at least two somewhat extreme personality types in the world. I call them ‘listers’ and ‘mappers’. The mappers are somewhat easier to understand if you’re a visual thinker. The mapper forms a map of the physical environment in his mind, then proceeds to consistently triangulate his relative position on the map according to cues within the terrain.

The listers are somewhat harder to get. The lister builds a filing system inside his head, throws every object and person into folder hierarchies and orients himself by finding stuff based upon which folder it is in. Every object in the lister’s universe has a part number which clearly states its file path.

Both fully developed listers and mappers are capable of locating most rooms, and almost everything else, fast and with machine like accuracy.

Now, the interesting thing is that both listers and mappers are capable of hiding things in plain view. Mappers are typically unaware of the existence of the listers’ filing system, and listers cannot see the maps, so the two groups can hide stuff from each other, as well as from normal people.

Any terrain can be designed according to mapper logic and/or lister logic. If you’re a latent or potential mapper, you are being guided by mental manipulation imagery. If you’re a latent or potential lister, you are being guided by symbolic links pointing to hidden parts lists.

[SSharon]

way too early for this, but I'm glad I have a good sense of direction. it is very rare that I am worried that I don't think I can figure out where I am even if at the moment I have no clue.

[Chuckit]

This assumes there is an overriding logic to most human organization.

[red rocket]

Originally Posted by SSharon

way too early for this, but I'm glad I have a good sense of direction. it is very rare that I am worried that don't think I can figure out where I am even if at the moment I have no clue.

Good for you. Every second not wasted worrying about navigational problems can be dedicated to intelligence increase.

Odd that it should be commonly recognised that logic trumps memorisation when it comes to solving small-scale puzzles such as Rubik’s cubes which nobody would consider solving by trying to remember how one had broken it originally, but people still act so stupidly when it comes to orientating themselves. I’ve seen this so often: Person enters a house, walks up a flight of stairs, around a corner or two, and he is already effectively lost because he cannot explain which compass direction he is facing, or in which direction the front door is. You then take him outside, and he cannot identify the window he just looked out of a minute before. If instead of using schools as centres for data cramming, they utilised them to teach pattern identification and algorithm building, this sort of behaviour would not be seen with anything near the regularity one can observe now.

Originally Posted by Chuckit

This assumes there is an overriding logic to most human organization.

Well, think about it. Even if something appears haphazard or illogical to you, everybody involved in its design process at the very least must have been thinking that there was some form of logic to how they were doing their bit, otherwise they’d go insane. If you’re a mapper and you’re inside a building or town that was designed with lister logic, you will find the whole layout counterintuitive. A lister goes in, and for him, everything seems perfect.

Another example: A group of architecture freshmen are given a guided tour of the university library. The librarian giving the tour comments that the library was somewhat poorly designed, basically functioning as an amplifier with dampened corners, meaning you really have to keep your mouth closed anywhere outside these special areas in the corners. Upon initial reflection, this does appear to make sense to everybody. A great architect could have designed the library as a sound well, permitting users to talk, the building absorbing most of the sound beyond a certain distance, so other users wouldn’t be disturbed.

Then again, upon closer examination, this does not hold up. You want the thing to be a freaking amplifier, because that forces the occupants to adopt the habit of silence. No problem for the target users, readers, big problem for the people you wouldn’t want in the library, chatterboxes, who consequently have an excuse for not going into that ‘poorly designed’ library.

University libraries, incidentally, have to satisfy both latent listers and mappers, facilitating both groups’ localisation methods, and at the same time preventing them from running into each other.

Even if something seems chaotic at first glance, to me there always seems to be some sort of pattern underlying that, even if it is just a pattern of apparent deficiencies. The design will work for somebody, if you can quickly work out what functions and needs that somebody has and assimilate that mindset, you can intuitively find his set of rooms, tools, et cetera, even if he has deliberately hidden them so he won’t be disturbed.

[SSharon]

Perhaps you can explain why I always need the last gate at the airport. Maybe they know I need to lose a few pounds.

[ghporter]

I think you're onto something about the whole "it's easier to get there the second time" thing. I think it has to do with familiarity with the route and surroundings. Because it's not all new, because you're not looking for landmarks the whole way, hoping you won't miss the correct turn, and because you're typically being more careful, the first trip to some place always seems to take a lot longer.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by red rocket 

I’ve seen this so often: Person enters a house, walks up a flight of stairs, around a corner or two, and he is already effectively lost because he cannot explain which compass direction he is facing, or in which direction the front door is. You then take him outside, and he cannot identify the window he just looked out of a minute before.

This is me exactly.

When I'm outside I'm typically very good about knowing which direction I'm facing, but once I'm inside a building, I get completely turned around.

[osiris]

I rarely get lost.
Even in a forest or strange city I tend to remain keen to my direction.
I don't list or map, I sense.

I tend to miss the bowl when I pee though.

[Laminar]

Originally Posted by osiris 

I tend to miss the bowl when I pee though.

Perhaps a map would help here.