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There is a standing joke within my family, that I could not navigate my way out of a paper bag. They smirk and simper, and shake their heads in disbelief, whenever it takes me an hour to complete a fifteen-minute drive to a friend’s house. People generally think that it must be a deliberate affectation until they are reliant on my directions or see me in action. That is when they adopt a look of pity.
Quite often, I explain it away as a loss of concentration. I simply was not paying attention to landmarks, or was distracted and missed a signpost. The truth is, that even when I am fully concentrating, have a printed map and a Sat Nav aiming me towards an address, I can still get lost. I am either a spectacular failure at spatial awareness or a roaring success at losing myself in the moment.
It used to bother me tremendously, driving around British country roads without the technology of mobile phones or GPS to rescue me. My only precaution back then was to make sure all journeys began with a full tank of petrol. I knew that if I drove in circles for long enough, I’d eventually spot something familiar with which to find my way home. It’s not a stress-free method of travel, by any means.
Now I discover that whole branches of science are devoted to researching this very dilemma. Some scientists focus on the incredible abilities…