ListNook

phira Apr 3, 2026 +66

I'm almost never lost even without GPS, somehow always know where I am relative to the places around me. Did get thoroughly lost in Venice once tho, that place is a maze.

66

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +14

Smart people 😒

14

phira Apr 3, 2026 +21

I know you're probably joking but honestly don't think it's a smarts thing, I never have to think about it or anything I always just seem to know. I remember once they did an experiment where they gave people a belt which had a thing which always vibrated in the direction of north, and the people wearing it suddenly got way better at knowing where they are etc. I don't think I'm a homing pigeon but maybe I know which way is north a lot or something?

21

cazbot Apr 3, 2026 +14

If you have even a vague sense of where the sun is in the sky, or the faintest sight of your shadow cast on a cloudy day, and you also know what time it is, you can accurately determine north within about 20 degrees error. Do that enough times and it just becomes intuitive. The only place I’ve ever been “lost” was in the southern hemisphere. My intuition was constantly telling me that true north was actually south. I could only get around that at night, where the stars would more clearly remind me I wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

14

resigned_medusa Apr 3, 2026 +6

That happened to me when I moved to Australia. I used to have a good sense of direction, then it went completely askew when I changed hemispheres. It slowly improved as I lived there for a few years, then I moved back and everything went weird again. But over the next few years it improved. Then I had chemo, and I thought it was just me, but I read a research paper somewhere that says it can affect your spatial awareness, so now while i know which is left and right, but will frequently label it incorrectly.. The brain is wild, and I'm very glad now for GPS

6

opopkl Apr 3, 2026 +2

The sun travelling right to left in the sky caught me a few times. I'd be sitting in the shade of an umbrella expecting to be out of the sun for an hour or so, only to be in blazing sunshine minutes later.

2

632nofuture Apr 3, 2026 +3

>I remember once they did an experiment where they gave people a belt which had a thing which always vibrated in the direction of north, and the people wearing it suddenly got way better at knowing where they are etc. damn sounds interesting! Now I want that lol! Or maybe just get a compass but manually checking is very different from that immediate input. I am always thankful for the sun's help in finding the rough cardinal directions at least. And the stars at night. (E.g u can always tell the rough southern side of the sky (from northern hemisphere at least) is the one that's interesting with stars, whereas eg the northern star I always recognize because its the super lonely one "somewhere noth" with not much around it lol. And apart from stars, even more helpful is looking at where the plants and moon are, cause they all follow kinda the same half-round path called ecliptic. Dunno if that's common knowledge but to me my brain was blown a bit when I fully realized that all the plants, moon and sun go along the same line from our POV lol. It that obviously changes its height over the course of the day, and length over the course of the year, but still.. its so fascinating like in summer when the sun(/ecliptic) is high at the sky, the moon/planets will be super low at night, and vice versa.. Ok boring ramble over)

3

juniorthefish Apr 3, 2026 +3

You don’t THINK you’re a homing pigeon. I am tickled by how this wording implies some slight doubt.

3

phira Apr 3, 2026 +2

I’ve been wrong about a lot of stuff in my life :)

2

Forsaken-Market-8105 Apr 3, 2026 +1

This reminds me of how I used to have a really terrible internal clock, and then I had to take medication half an hour before I could eat, every time I wanted to eat, for over a year. I’ve been off of that medication for longer than I was on it, but if I put something in the oven for 30 minutes I will be in the kitchen with a minute to spare without checking the timer. It only works if I set a timer though.

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 -1

Ohhhhhhhhh 😂😂

-1

somethingquirky01 Apr 3, 2026 +4

It's not a smart thing, it's a pattern thing. Somehow, my brain remembers shapes of landmarks and it's imprinted. It's the way your brain is wired. My husband is a brilliant engineer and extremely intelligent, but gets lost getting out of a carpark (I'm not kidding).

4

HorrPubl2 Apr 3, 2026 +2

Venice is the final boss for anyone who thinks they have a good internal compass.

2

opopkl Apr 3, 2026 +2

You can usually get a sense of north, South, East and West from the sun, or at least the brightness in the sky. In the narrow Venetian alleys, you lost that ability. Plus, it's flat, so you never get any sense of moving to higher or lower ground, or to and away from a river.

2

phira Apr 3, 2026 +3

I thought about it at the time, and the conclusion I came to was more about the way the streets lay out. If you have a look at a map there's two main features I think stuffed up my navigation. The first was that a lot of the streets are dead ends—and sometimes they go quite some distance before hitting the end due to houses or canals in the way. The second is the way they curve. A lot of the streets aren't just not-straight, but they curve fairly slowly and subtly. Those, combined no doubt with the reduced sky (both for brightness as you say but also any tall landmarks) meant I found myself moving in directions I wasn't expecting and I couldn't easily kinda unwind my position to understand where I'd got to.

3

Papa_Huggies Apr 3, 2026 +2

Venice and Florence are the two cities I've gotten genuinely lost in. Usually after staring at a map for about 30s I know what the vibe is, but it's extra tricky if you lose sight of landmarks and the sun

2

Zestyclose_Media_548 Apr 3, 2026 +1

I have zero sense of direction. In fact I will often leave and head the exact opposite direction from where I need to go. I have a friend that is the opposite and could navigate through Venice at night and helped some other tourists get to their hotel by the train station - it was over 30 years ago. I don’t remember exactly where she brought them to- I think it was around that area but I have the picture of my friend and the people she helped. Edit - were were only there one night !

1

ChallengeCuriousity Apr 3, 2026 +29

I’m fully GPS dependent 😂 if it stopped working I’d just accept my fate. I don’t think in directions at all, just landmarks and vibes. “Turn left at the place that used to be a gas station 5 years ago” type navigation!

29

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +9

At this situation let's be a Dora the explorer 😂😂😂😂

9

CatsDIY Apr 3, 2026 +5

Exactly. “It’s a block past where the police station used to be.”

5

Hulla_Sarsaparilla Apr 3, 2026 +3

Oh my life my partner directs me like this but he grew up here and I didn’t so his ‘it’s just next to the old police station/that pub that closed down 15 years ago’ etc make no sense to me 😆

3

anotheredditors Apr 3, 2026 +1

One of us

1

ComprehensiveFlan638 Apr 3, 2026 +18

You don’t need a mental map, you just need a regular paper map, the ability to read it without turning it upside down (very simple… just reverse the left and right turns), and the ability to remember at least two or three turns at a time.

18

Metruis Apr 3, 2026 +6

One time, a couple years ago, we cracked open a paper map in the car because we just... I don't know, didn't feel like using our phones or whatever, spread it out over the dash to look for the street we needed, and a guy drove by and had the biggest double take and burst out laughing. I guess it's a rare sight these days. We did find the street. We always have paper maps in the car of our area, and we have used them most often to navigate back roads with dodgy internet access. If we travel somewhere, we buy a map.

6

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Then it's going to be a adventure 🌚

1

majandess Apr 3, 2026 +11

I don't use GPS, and I rarely get lost. But I also don't know the cardinal directions.

11

Tarantula_1 Apr 3, 2026 +1

Everyone is taught a slightly different way, the way I was taught to remember the directions is Never Eat Sour Worms.

1

majandess Apr 3, 2026 +4

Well, I know what they are. I just couldn't point to which way is north to save my life.

4

Tarantula_1 Apr 3, 2026 +2

Sun rises in East, sets in the West, so if North is in front Eeast is on your right, West your left and South behind.

2

majandess Apr 3, 2026 +2

I know this. But I have no idea which way they are in the middle of a forest or standing on an unfamiliar street corner. I navigate relatively, not fixed. And that's OK.

2

HowsMyBuddy Apr 3, 2026

Why would you go into a forest, or stand on a street corner, if you can only navigate “relatively”?

0

jaytrainer0 Apr 3, 2026 +2

I was taught a little jingle "left is west is the best" (when facing north obviously)

2

One-Price680 Apr 3, 2026 +2

Never eat shredded wheat, or Naughty elephant squirts water

2

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

🙃🙃

1

Automatic-Passenger2 Apr 3, 2026 +5

I never had internal navigation growing up in the middle of Texas. Then I moved to Chicago and for some reason started being able to know where Lake Michigan was like an internal compass pointing east! I still live near the lake and love being able to roughly determine which direction I’m headed in. I’d miss that if I moved somewhere landlocked again.

5

EmergencyShit Apr 3, 2026 +3

I got way better at knowing directions when I lived in SF. It’s hard to ignore where the ocean is!

3

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

😂😂😂😂 same things happened to me also

1

Diamondsandwood Apr 3, 2026 +1

Chicago's grid system makes navigation a lot easier too.

1

Obvious_Ideal9844 Apr 3, 2026 +1

I miss having a huge natural landmark to reference. I'm my city it was a mountain you could see almost from everywhere. Also a body of water near by it is the best.

1

neverneededsaving Apr 3, 2026 +1

Growing up in Salt Lake City, I had such an easy time cause the big mountains were east and the little ones were west. Was tough when I eventually left!

1

boyasunder Apr 3, 2026 +4

I am in a small call room on a below-ground level of a large hospital with no visible directional markings and I can tell you I am currently facing West. It’s probably more like NW because the streets are a bit angled, but it’s mostly West. I try to always keep my compass going. This also means my directions are not very useful to other people.

4

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

😂😂😂

1

Dr4g0n__Kn1ght Apr 3, 2026 +4

I can remember places that I should pass in order to get to a destination, but I can't remember street names and roads

4

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +2

Wow

2

Appropriate-Sound169 Apr 3, 2026 +3

My daughter is a human GPS and knows directions to places she's only been to once. Was very useful when she was a child because I'm the opposite and, pre Google maps, she was my pathfinder lol. Me? I get lost in office buildings, especially if someone has shown me to a particular room. I have to stop at turnings, doorways etc and look back the way I've come so I know the way out. I also have no idea what distance looks like. Someone says, oh it's 100yds away and I have no idea how far that is. I have Aphantasia so I think that's why.

3

giveherdaisies Apr 3, 2026 +3

For example, the laundromat. My partner always drove, for months. The first time I drove (first dozen times), I needed him to tell me how to get there. Now I know how to get there confidently. But ONLY from our home, our usual "starting line." I also could never explain to anyone else how to get there or even what street it's on. It's an autopilot destination. Work, my doctor, the store - autopilot. Anything else? GPS. Don't even try to say, "it's two streets down from the laundromat," no! GPS.

3

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Nice bro 😂😂

1

Wolf_Mb Apr 3, 2026 +2

In my humble opinion, GPS is a great tool, but it's also true that you don't remember places by yourself

2

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Yup bro

1

Wolf_Mb Apr 3, 2026 +1

That happens to most of us

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Hm hm

1

Traditional_Isopod80 Apr 3, 2026 +2

I'm guessing my mental map is probably about average. 🤷🏼‍♂️

2

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +2

Hm nice 👍🏻

2

Frosty_You9538 Apr 3, 2026 +2

I always have like a mental map of where I am. Just the geometry of: streets, landmarks, points of interest, topography. For the places i know good its very comprehensive. If I visit another city I usually study google maps for an hour or so, to have a coarse navigation. But when I'm not sure anymore I cheat ;)

2

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Hm hm

1

Legitimate-Magazine7 Apr 3, 2026 +2

I'm team 'take a right at that cute little Bakery with the yellow curtains, and than take a left at the shoe shop' and even then I have to really do the walk/drove mentally.

2

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

🤕🤕 wow

1

jayne-eerie Apr 3, 2026 +2

I don’t have a mental map either. Even looking at a GPS I get confused whether turns are right or left if the map isn’t oriented the way my brain wants it to be. I can only get cardinal directions if the sun is close to rising or setting, take me outside at noon and I have no idea It’s very sad.

2

opopkl Apr 3, 2026 +2

It helps if you're somewhere that has a big geographical feature - mountains, the ocean or a big river nearby. I find it difficult finding my way around very flat places e.g Florida or the Netherlands. You can travel for an hour and not get any sense that you've gone anywhere.

2

Winrevair Apr 3, 2026 +2

As long as I know where the sun rises, I know what direction to go

2

Loisgrand6 Apr 3, 2026 +1

I’m more of a landmark person.

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Nice

1

QueenMEB120 Apr 3, 2026 +1

I have a mental map can get around most places easily. But, aside from highways and some major roads, I couldn't tell you what direction to go. I only know what direction the road my house is on goes because it runs parallel to the interstate. We've lived here for 13 years.

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Nice

1

floopdyboop Apr 3, 2026 +1

I need to see the map to have the map in my head, it’s hard for me to visualize a map based just on where I’ve gone, like if i were to go through a maze or something. But yeah it’s helpful to be able to use a map in my head. You should try going without gps! Look up the directions beforehand, write down the turns you need to make on which streets. Look at the turns on the map, even using the street view to see what the turn looks like. Note the distance between turns. Look at the roads that come before your turn (so you’ll know when it’s coming up) and the roads after your turn (so you know when you’ve gone too far). Look at the overall shape of your route, and see that you’re going in a zigzag towards the northwest with three turns once you’re out of your neighborhood. You’ll probably miss a turn or two at first, but you’ll learn the city much better! I did this before i had a smartphone in college and i knew the city better than a lot of my friends. I had a paper map in my car and an iPod touch if i needed to pull over and check the directions at a WiFi spot. I always got where i needed to go!

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Hm hm impressive

1

A_Trash_Homosapien Apr 3, 2026 +1

I'd say I'm pretty gps dependent but I can get around to my usual spots without pretty well. Couldn't tell you what cardinal direction anything's in though just when to turn

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

😂😂😂

1

SavageAutum Apr 3, 2026 +1

I’m not GPS dependent, but I don’t generally characterise things my NSEW either. A mental map based on landscape and landmarks is still a mental map. That being said I do actually know how to find the cardinal directions if REALLY needed, but it can be hard depending on the season bc the sun can be low in the sky for a majority of the day it takes a bit to calculate whether it’s position is in the east or west (yay for lower southern hemisphere stuff)

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Hm hm hm

1

wuanlai65 Apr 3, 2026 +1

landmark and cardinal direction, I'm really good with it and have good memory, I only need to traverse the place once and still remember it for years to come.

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Nice nice bro you have a good memory

1

Pantherdraws Apr 3, 2026 +1

I navigate first by landmarks, then by muscle memory once I've traveled a route a few times. I did get lost in Phoenix, AZ once because the landmark I was trying to follow was, uh... Well, it was very big and it skewed my perception of how far away it was, lmao. I was very dehydrated and sunburned by the time I finally got home and slept for almost twelve hours.

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Wow

1

Pantherdraws Apr 3, 2026 +1

"The Bank of America building should only be a couple blocks from here and we can catch a bus home from there!" Narrator: The Bank of America building was not, actually, a couple blocks away. It was *a couple of MILES*.

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

😂😂😂 same thing happened to me I was going to place i through was close but in reality it was 50 km away 🥲

1

Kitanatron Apr 3, 2026 +1

I don’t know north and south but I try to pay attention to roads and make a map in my head of which intersection I’m going to, or which roads are parallel to each other and which are perpendicular. It’s kinda fun making a map in your head

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

😂😂😂

1

impeliz Apr 3, 2026 +1

I feel you! I know the way from my house to place A and from my house to place B, but I couldn't tell you the fastest route to directly go from place A to place B, lol. And I grew up in the city that I current live in.

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Us brother us

1

popolorion Apr 3, 2026 +1

My husband never lost..it’s as if his body just know where North is, like a freaking compass. While me, I forgot the last turn we took. At this point I’m not even trying to change my fate.

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

😂😂😂

1

jaytrainer0 Apr 3, 2026

I don't know if you're a special case but from what I've seen it's a matter of paying attention more than anything. So many people just "la la la" their way around without paying attention to where they are, many don't even look up from their phones at all. It's less of a matter of innate skill but rather conscious intent and effort. Have you tried to actually actively pay attention to where you are? Have you looked at a map of your area intently? It's like the people who say "I'm not good at math" without ever trying to learn it.

0

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Hm 😟😓

1

Aggravating_Anybody Apr 3, 2026 +1

I mean, I don’t automatically know which side of the building I’m in faces North, but if you asked me how to get somewhere I’ve been before I could definitely tell you the street directions. Also I don’t really think I’ve been genuinely “lost” before? I’ve definitely searched for a destination but I was always within a 1-3 mile vicinity of the destination. But I’ve never had the feeling of “how did I get here/I don’t know how to get back to a place I know”. It’s always been as simple as following directions and then just retracing my steps if the directions don’t pan out.

1

Sora-oi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Hm hm hm hm

1

PapaTua Apr 3, 2026 +1

I'm the *complete* opposite! I'm constantly orienting in the background. I always keep track of North and if I do lose track, I automatically re-orient to find it. I keep massive maps (at different scales: local, city, regional, global) in my mind and update/annotate them constantly, so I always know generally where I am on those maps at *all* of those scales. I don't know that I've ever been *totally* lost. Even if I don't know exactly where I am, I usually know where I am generally. New cities, especially if I use subways always throw me for a loop because every time I come back up to street level from a train I have to re-orient since I can't keep track underground. But after a few days I'm fully oriented. One time I was out camping in a desert wilderness and got caught away from camp in a *night time* dust storm with 60mph winds and literally 3 feet of visibility through the dust. I navigated myself, on a bike, about 1.5 miles back to my camp using only a tiny compass I had on my watch. Once I figured my vector to get from where I thought I was to where I wanted to go, I rode *directly* there too, I was fully oriented the entire time in basically pitch blackness!

1

Joe_Kangg Apr 3, 2026 +1

I switch my screen off and follow use road signs whenever possible. I'm conscious of the brain rot creep, ai is taking enough from me, so i like to use my brain whenever possible. I'd love an electric scooter, but I'd never walk to the store again, and I need that walk.

1

zombies-and-coffee Apr 3, 2026 +1

I absolutely do have a mental map, but it's based entirely on a kind of "street view". No clue whether I'm going north or south, only that I can tell you precisely how to get somewhere based on landmarks. Like I can still tell you how to get from my house in my hometown to all of the major landmarks I have memories of. Kinda wish I could do that for my current town, but I haven't really formed much of an emotional attachment to it yet. Navigating is also kind of ass here for some reason and involves notes like "If you're on the street where a guy has two cows in a small field, go back four blocks and turn left" and "don't go down the right fork or you might get stuck on the railroad tracks, in which case your car is fucked".

1

Radmode7 Apr 3, 2026 +1

I eschew GPS wherever possible. If I'm in a rush and I don't know exactly where it is, I'll drive most of the way w/o it and then when I get within a couple blocks/miles figure out the finework there. Otherwise, I look it up on a map ahead of time, and then get there. I grew up with Rand McNalley Road Atlases. My neurodivergence is obsessed with maps. I'd sit on the toilet with an Atlas and just stare at them.

1

winter_laurel Apr 3, 2026 +1

I’m a human GPS, and a friend once told me that my sense of direction is the envy of a mountaineer. I grew up in the woods long before gps was a part of daily life, near a small town that has roads like a spaghetti bowl, so I had to learn something. Also it’s also partly how my brain is wired and I just know where the directions are, plus the position of the sun helps a lot. If I find my way to someplace once I can easily find it again. I can be wrong and get lost, but it’s not often. All that said, if I go someplace like San Francisco, I sure as shit am using the GPS in the city.

1

cardifan Apr 3, 2026 +1

I’m definitely a human GPS. I don’t even know how to explain it, but I “feel” directions and how to navigate.

1

Revolutionary-Till9 Apr 3, 2026 +1

Ah yes, I'm like you mostly... I only learnt the sides cause I had to take the subway/trains for 3+ years and I still get it mixed. I am also the person who gets lost with the gps on... Soooo... Good luck to all of us

1

Lev22_ Apr 3, 2026 +1

I never set a direction while i’m on gps, i just slide through the destination and find the way by my own. It’s not like i know every places, sometimes i got lost but i took it as a learning bcs maybe someday i’ll past that street again.

1

ethersings Apr 3, 2026 +1

I have a mental map because I lived 40 years without gps mapping. I definitely use gps directions now but still have a rough picture in my mind from looking at the online map before hitting ‘start’

1

Dropthetenors Apr 3, 2026 +1

Im like this in malls. Im fine outdoors and in cities but once im in a mall its like a tin foil hat went on me and all navigation is gone. Large schools and complex compounds I can get after 1 maybe 2 routes. Im a very visual person so Im generally really good about local navigation and then just blow that out for cardinal direction. But malls. Malls are the mystery space for me.

1

Burntoastedbutter Apr 3, 2026 +1

I NEED a GPS to drive. And it already makes me so anxious that it doesn't tell me quick enough which street or exit to turn into. I've missed so many turns lol. Once my phone died halfway and it's a miracle I even managed to reach home. I was just driving and picking roads that seemed familiar until I reached home 😭 my anxiety

1

Connect_Rhubarb395 Apr 3, 2026 +1

I remember the olden times before GPSes. Getting lost, having to ask for directions, trying to go in the general direction of where I needed to go, having printed directions that didn't help much. The first time I used the GPS in my phone (walking, I didn't have a car at the time) was eye-opening: "Duuuuude, I don't have to become lost again and I don't have to approach strangers to ask for directions."

1

skandranon_rashkae Apr 3, 2026 +1

Living in the NYC area makes it easy for me, since anything north of Houston is based on a grid. If I'm heading uptown, I'm going north. If the avenues are decreasing in number, I'm headed east, and if the streets start to get weird, I'm on my way south because the Dutch didn't care about making sense of the world and just used existing trails to make their roads. Outside of the city I am generally pretty good since I haven't lived outside of the northern hemisphere, so I am able to tell general direction from sunrise, sunset, and star constellations (when I am able to see them). I definitely do get lost on occasion, but the mental map is one of those things I've always made a point to keep up with.

1

ALPHAZINSOMNIA Apr 3, 2026 +1

It's definitely a skill you can train. If you think it's some innate ability, you're wrong 😂

1

MaybeTheDoctor Apr 3, 2026 +1

I instinctually know compass direction by time of day and sun position. Doesn’t have to be all that accurate for the general direction. Back in the days with paper maps I would confirm my location with the occasional street name. I can get somewhat lost if the sky is heavily clouded or at night, and I tend to just confirm street names more often. I of cause uses GPS today like everybody else, but my brain has a gps, and I know mine is better than most other peoples, so this is similar to some people having aphasia

1

Obvious_Ideal9844 Apr 3, 2026 +1

From where I come from we orient ourselves through references, not by cardinal points. So you would say: go right till you see the bakery, turn left and then continue to until you see the school. When you see the school you have arrived but it is not on that side of the sidewalk its across the street. So no, google maps its so cryptic for me hahaha I had to learn to use it as an old lady now. LOL I even got confused between left and right as a kid. Had to make the association with the hand I wear the watch, and the hand I write hahaha.

1

Hulla_Sarsaparilla Apr 3, 2026 +1

I know generally what way is north from my city if I got on the motorway but I wouldn’t know which way was north/south in general. I can get around pretty much my entire city without a sat nav though, I’d need it to find a particular street I hadn’t been to but I could get to a particular neighbourhood. Getting to most other cities/areas without a sat nav would be fine because once you’re on the motorway you can follow the signs as long as you start off in the right direction in general. If I go on holiday I get my bearings pretty quick and can find my way back to my hotel.

1

aashay2035 Apr 3, 2026 +1

The way I get around this, is remembering what the city kinda looks like, then remembering the major land marks. Rivers, oceans, buildings, and even neighborhoods. From that you can deduce what's north and south, and west and east. Then I just say go west on X Street and you will see the cafe. Takes time and actively thinking about what the city is. But after a few months you will just naturally spill it out.

1

flecksable_flyer Apr 3, 2026 +1

My map has no compass. I've driven in the wrong direction by an entire state *twice*. GPS is a godsend to people like me.

1

BlindOwlAcademyFarsi Apr 3, 2026 +1

Oh my Gosh, I thought I was the only one who gets lost with GPS 😅 Even when I park my car in a public parking lot, I have to look for it for a long time to remember where I parked it 😅😅😅 I mean, I could write 10 comedy books out of these stories of getting lost 😅

1

CacklingInCeltic Apr 3, 2026 +1

Going by street names here is almost impossible, so many sound alike. I go by landmarks and I have a general idea of which direction I need to go in to get to where I’m going. Life would be a little more difficult without it but once I travel a road a couple of times, I usually can navigate on my own. The main reason I use it these days is to let me know about traffic and if I need to take a detour because of roadworks or an accident or whatever else could happen

1

MariaMapmaker Apr 3, 2026 +1

I almost exclusively think in 'map', lol. Cardinal direction is my life and my livelihood. If someone tells me a story about another place I immediately envision it's relation to my current location. My brain: "His aunt lives in St. Louis? That's about 1600 miles SE of here... okay, continue listening now." Perhaps there's some truth to the idea that some people have more vestigial magnetite in their brains than others, IDK 😉

1

_Disco-Stu Apr 3, 2026 +1

I have dyscalculia and,spatial confusion with directions and trouble with way finding are some of the primary ways it shows up for me. GPS is not a nice to have for me, it’s an accommodation that affords me the independence I otherwise might not have. Getting diagnosed was something that released me from the shame I’ve always felt about that.

1

ThinkbigShrinktofit Apr 3, 2026 +1

Some people have good sense of direction, regardless of technology. Our human brains evolved to navigate nature, to pay attention to our surroundings so we can retrace our steps, and memorize and name landmarks. GPS has atrophied this. Those of us who grew up with static maps got used to picking out landmarks on the map so we could look for them on our actual journey as markers for how far we’d gone or that we were still going in the right direction. Compass points help with that, but not everyone has an intuitive understanding of those. I know where north is, because I looked at a map to figure out which way my balcony faces (west, and the sun sets there only around the equinoxes). I do not have an intuitive understanding of the compass points; I just choose to look them up and note them because they help me explain directions to others. But landmarks are better. I’m in the southwest corner of my office building, but explaining to a visitor that I face the gas station (a navigational landmark) means no need for compass points.

1

juniorthefish Apr 3, 2026 +1

I too have no innate sense of direction. I just memorized which way is north and which is south in my city. Trader Joe’s is north. Costco is south. I check the sun if possible too. If I go somewhere new and will be walking a lot, I try to study a map and memorize which way the major streets run/how they connect. But without some support or heuristic like that, 95% of the time if I guess which way, I’ll be wrong.

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TemporaryValue6527 Apr 3, 2026 +1

Shit i could be blindfold drunk and stuck in the trunk and still laugh at the kidnapper kno exactly where I be and which street took to get here 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 and im from the A

1

Forsaken-Market-8105 Apr 3, 2026 +1

In a car? If I don’t have a map I’m *lost*. I could be driving from my house to the grocery store that I go to every week and I’d make a wrong turn without a map. On foot, though? Drop me in the middle of my favorite city’s downtown area and I will get you where you need to go. No need for a map or address or even a restaurant name.

1

Eltharion-the-Grim Apr 3, 2026 +1

People’s brains work differently. For example, I can do mental maps but I can’t remember song lyrics, even to my favourite songs I have listened to for years. Both my wife and daughter can sing along to songs after a couple listens. It’s amazing to me. You have your own thing too, you just haven’t ever thought of it because it’s been with you all this time.

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sf-keto Apr 3, 2026 +1

I always navigate by big clear landmarks such as the tallest buildings, church steeples, the direction of a river, and of course the sun. Turn by turn directional street instructions are easily foiled by street closures, roadwork, parades, accidents & traffic jams, etc. So I stick to what’s less changeable. That church steeple’s been there since 1250, you know?

1

OP90X Apr 3, 2026 +1

I am pretty good at directions. Only average with street names though. Played a lot of videogames as a kid, apparently it helps because you are mapping out places before you are independent enough to actually traverse irl. Some games open world's are quite big, especially MMORPGs.

1

wanna_be_green8 Apr 3, 2026 +1

Until recently I thought everyone could mentally map a drive, their town, etc. Then I needed directions from my 9yo daughter's friend. My daughter could direct you to almost anything in town. She can tell you which direction to head, when to turn and overall how to find somewhere. If she was somehow alone in town she could walk to our friends house with no guidance This other kid didn't know if his grandparents house was blue or yellow. No street names, no directing. He just doesn't pay attention to those things. I think it's pretty important to learn basic navigation skills no matter your environment. As a state park employee for many years we learned to pay attention to where the sun, water and roads were in perspective to ourselves. Situational awareness can save a life.

1

daydreamersrest Apr 3, 2026 +1

I am convinced it is possible to learn that to a certain degree. For example by knowing (learning!) in which direction the sun is at certain times of the day. By looking at paper maps and learning to read them and translating them into the real world. By being aware of the direction of certain landmarks. Yes, people are different, for some that comes more naturally. But I'm sure if you are really willing, you can learn not to get lost (I am pretty sure I was at least 20 before I started being able to tell directions and today my ability to tell where I am/where I came from etc is quite excellent).

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togtogtog Apr 3, 2026 +1

Yes, it's like I have a little GPS in my head and I am walking (or driving) around on it. However, some people I know (even before GPS existed, and even using a map) tend to navigate more using landmarks, so they know particular place where they need to turn. For them, it's more things to remember, as they need to remember each journey individually. Those people tend to get lost more easily, as once they vary from a route they know, they can't correct it. Sometimes it can be confusing as a road might be at slightly the wrong angle in my mental map, so different parts of my map end up joining up in unexpected ways! However, it usually readjusts once I realise and corrects itself.

1

PiepersMetKerst Apr 3, 2026 +1

I always, always get lost. I'm Dutch so my main means of travel was always my bike and at the time I didn't have internet on my phone, so made do with printed out navigation steps. Starting with the classic "head northwest", it was dark so no sun to help me. Then "after 3.1km, go left" when I passed several left turns over that 3.1km and had no idea when that 3.1km would be over. To "go straight" and run into a split where you could go either left or right. Shopping malls are a classic, I always get lost there. But I also rarely play map-based games without map. I've come down to accepting that this is the way it is and when I go to a new location I make sure to leave 30 minutes early so I'll make it on time.

1

Sweihwa Apr 3, 2026 +1

Street name and estimated length, time, and rate. R x t = distance. Elementary school. Teacher picked me to do surveying and to give a speech about Earth Day too. Not lost in Mexico City because my Spanish is somewhat professional, so I'm able to ask people where I was.

1

richgate Apr 3, 2026 +1

In most U.S. cities with a grid system, avenues typically run north-south and streets typically run east-west

1

Eighth_Eve Apr 3, 2026 +1

I'm not a human gps, but i have an internal compass. I always know which way is north, and if i lose that, like in a big building, i feel very uncomfortable until i reorient which is the 1st thing i do when i step outside. I used to love trying to get lost. Just driving around seeing what is there. Landmarks over street signs.

1

the_lobster_project Apr 3, 2026 +1

I'm actually pretty bad with maps and gps, but my internal map is pretty great, at least with the city I live in

1

Tighron Apr 3, 2026 +1

I have a pretty good mental map for anywhere i am, and i tend to quickly build a new one in new places i visit. the first few hours on vacation im kind of confused, but it doesnt last long. One time i spent a couple of hour sin Berlin goin west when i was supposed to go east, but that is rare now. I cant necessarily tell you which way is north, but if i pay attention i can usually figure out the general direction. LIke i can be in a town and know that one side of the river is the north side, or that the railroad crossed through town NW-SE and then navigate to places based on that. It might come from playing video games for years, some old games had either bad maps or no maps, so it really helped making my own in my head.

1

jackfaire Apr 3, 2026 +1

I couldn't tell you north, south, etc to save my life. My mental map is more Google Street View than a directional map.

1

South_Koala_2517 Apr 3, 2026 +1

I would be totally lost without google maps. I can go the wrong direction leaving a different entrance from work to go pick my son up from school. It look my years to learn to drive because my sense of direction was so bad and driving doesn’t come naturally to me. I had to have lessons until I could operate the car without having to think about it so all my attention could be on where I was going and other road users.

1

who-dat24 Apr 3, 2026 +1

I have a very strong “internal compass .” I don’t have any issues finding my way around. However, I don’t have an “internal clock.” Five minutes or five hours, it’s all the same to me.

1

viditjn02 Apr 3, 2026 +1

i genuinely cannot give directions using north/south/east/west. it's all "turn left at the big tree" for me. some people just process space completely differently and that's fine honestly

1

ThePrimCrow Apr 3, 2026 +1

I am a human GPS. I thought that was the norm until one day in college my housemate called her dad to ask directions to get to her own house. I was genuinely perplexed she needed that info.

1

kmiyoc Apr 3, 2026 +1

Estás conociendo nuevos caminos = perdido

1

aprildawndesign Apr 3, 2026 +1

I have a terrible sense of direction, but one thing that is helpful( in the US) is highways that end with an odd number run north to south and highways that end, with an even number run east to west.

1

joanaloxcx Apr 3, 2026 +1

I just have to familiarise myself with my current location and I can handle that, also when I get lost I use GPS or ask locals.

1

FinalEgg9 Apr 3, 2026 +1

I've literally never been able to tell where I am or where anything else is, ever. I get lost in shops if they're big enough (like supermarkets). I've lived in my city for 30 years and still don't know which direction to point in if someone asked where something is. I just can't map anything out.

1

shortnun Apr 3, 2026 +1

Sound like my son who's 16 just learning to drive in the last year can't get any where without GPS... We get in the car i tell him to head to Walmart on the corner of Street 1 and Street 2 about 3 miles. and he's like do I turn right or left out of the neighbohood... ..

1

cruisethevistas Apr 3, 2026 +1

I am exactly the same and got turned around a lot before GPS. My brother is also terrible at directions. I think it is genetic.

1

I’ve realized that I have zero mental map and I’m honestly impressed by people who do

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