Sense of direction, how the frak?

[Spear80]

So i was wondering yet again....

You know how in movies or tv shows, the soldiers, police or firemen go into any building and know after any number of twists and turns, (and obstacles) what direction their facing. North, south whichever. With no outside frame of reference. How the frak do they do it! Or is that even possibe in RL? Is it a movie/tv thing?

Now i navigate like a dead pidgeon, given time to think on it and the sun, i can while outside, or with a window to allow me to see said sun, figure out, roughly, which direction i might be facing. I figure if i studied i could do it at night too. I cannot do it, without such a reference.

I've been in large warehouses, and after a number of twists and turns, i couldn't correctly you point you in the direction of my car. Until i thoroughly got to know the place. So to me, a half cripsy fireman, telling his chief he's at the north wall, hugging a baby to his chest is amazing. Even more so because of the baby, off course.

[Inkidu]

Police and military people often go through training to be able to manually determine their directions and situational positions. It's often not as perfect in real life as TV Land, but there are techniques that can be used. Soldiers often have compasses or in the case of being really high tech GPS, police often know the places they're going to so it's as simple as looking at a familiar street to know what direction you're facing.

[Spear80]

I see, that makes sense i guess. Thank you.

[RedRose]

Yeah. Training helps, but isn't enough.

My dad who lived through several wars is very into "training", taught me to shoot when I was tiny - and also tried to give me some sense of direction. I am good at shooting but still suck at that. Last summer we got lost in a forrest with several friends including a vet, and I was the one who "felt" that we weren't going where we should be going, and found how to get back. The vet was quite pissed about that. Still I am generally crap at it.

[Mathim]

I lose my sense of direction easily in video games, never mind in reality.

[Arkaniel]

I don’t know how it works, but I’m pretty much always aware where I’m “located”. I have a pretty good sense of direction. Never tested it in a large forest , though.

[Dhi]

Spatial intelligence is a kind of intelligence, depending on what model of human intelligence you follow. There are certainly tests out there to gauge how you rank, and training to help you improve. Having good spatial intelligence lets you think about objects in three dimensions and turn them around in your mind, so while you don't necessarily know where you are, you do know where you've been and can find your way back.

I don't experience highway hypnosis, I'm always aware of and taking mental snapshots of my environment and this helps when out in the field or traveling abroad or writing from experience. It's not anything close to photographic memory, it's more like an aesthetic thing. A combination of elements that sticks in my brain as though I'm seeing something strange for the first time, even though I've seen something like it a million times.

The differences in how human minds work is fascinating to me! What an unimaginative waste, to try and reduce it all to a static IQ score.