I think I am one. Are you?

[..]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6822849/Humans-ancient-magnetic-sense-direction-like-pigeons.html

[scooperhsd]

I don't have that, but I do have a Dead reckoning tracer about following my path.

[hubcapsc]

[John Schmidt]

Yes, to some degree, never tested it but I know one thing....my wife can get lost in a phone booth. And my ex, that woman was downright scary. We both had a private pilot's license and to this day I'll never understand how she passed. She got lost going from Orlando to Ocala, maybe 60 miles, and while flying along I-75 she dropped down enough to read the city signs along the interstate to figure out where she was. If she didn't have field glasses with her she'd been lost forever.  

[DirtyDan]

Personally I’ve always been a walking/ now rolling GPS unit

Dan

[¿spoom]

Spin me around twice on a foggy day, and I can't find my shoes. 

[DIGGER]

I have a terrible sense of direction .  I love flying in small airplanes with licensed pilots,  did a little skydiving , always wanted to get a pilot license but my sense of direction kept me from doing it.   I know....you say use a GPS but I can't think of anything more horrifying than piloting an airplane while turned around or lost.

[Hook#3287]

I find it slightly challenging at noon or cloudy times.

[..]

I find it slightly challenging at noon or cloudy times.

 

[98valk]

just don't let the liberals see this who think there is no difference btwn men and women

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/12/151207081824.htm
fMRI images of the brain showed that both men and women use large areas of the brain when they navigate, but some areas were different. The men used the hippocampus more, whereas women used their frontal areas to a greater extent.

"That's in sync with the fact that the hippocampus is necessary to make use of cardinal directions," says Pintzka.

He explains the findings in evolutionary terms.

"In ancient times, men were hunters and women were gatherers. Therefore, our brains probably evolved differently. For instance, other researchers have documented that women are better at finding objects locally than men. In simple terms, women are faster at finding things in the house, and men are faster at finding the house," Pintzka says.

A little testosterone under the tongue

Step two was to give some women testosterone just before they were going to solve the maze puzzles.

This was a different group of women than the group that was compared to men. In this step, 42 women were divided into two groups. Twenty-one of them received a drop of placebo, and 21 got a drop of testosterone under the tongue. The study was double-blinded so that neither Pintzka nor the women knew who got what.

"We hoped that they would be able to solve more tasks, but they didn't. But they had improved knowledge of the layout of the maze. And . And they used the hippocampus to a greater extent, which tends to be used more by men for navigating," says Pintzka.

Losing one's sense of direction is one of the first symptoms in Alzheimer's disease.

"Almost all brain-related diseases are different in men and women, either in the number of affected individuals or in severity. Therefore, something is likely protecting or harming people of one sex. Since we know that twice as many women as men are diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, there might be something related to sex hormones that is harmful," says Pintzka.

[robin]

It definitely is not in me PERIOD!!!!!!!

[98valk]

some more info

https://phys.org/news/2016-06-evidence-human-ability-earth-magnetic.html

http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/06/maverick-scientist-thinks-he-has-discovered-magnetic-sixth-sense-humans

[Alberta Patriot]

Nope. If I am in unfamiliar surroundings at night, I have no idea which direction I am headed. When travelling, I use Google Maps...actually even around Calgary...mostly for traffic warnings. I have been saved from having to stare at the licence plate ahead of me at 2MPH many times. Maps has directed me on routes that I have never thought of using!  I have Android Auto, so all I do is say "OK Google" navigate to #@@@@. It needs improving.... but wy wife reminds me of the many ways I could improve

[Rams]

I can't think of anything more horrifying than piloting an airplane while turned around or lost.

One of my most frustrating experiences was flying with a Captain (who never should have made it to graduation in flight school or forgot most of what he was taught) that could not navigate, maintain a given course or altitude/airspeed.     I assure you, it is not that difficult.   

Once taking off from a remote landing (un-lit) field, I gave this CPT the controls and told him to climb to a certain altitude and maintain a set course while I contacted ATC to open our flight plan.   Although asked to have the frequency out and available, he did not have it.   So while I thumbed through the book looking, he was flying the helicopter.    Had an EOD pac in the back.

I made contact, opened our flight plan and looked up to see how we were doing.   As it turns out, he was watching what I was doing and paying little attention to what he was doing!    We were in a slow 360* turn, off course and well below safe altitude.   Scared the he'll out of me.   Totally black outside (midnight and a moonless night).  Took me a while to establish a safe altitude and course.    I accept total fault in this, I was PIC.   That was the last time I let him fly with me.   

In reference to an innate sense of direction, normally yes but there are exceptions to every rule.

Rams

[0leman]

Not sure any of you have noticed, but the magnetic North pole had been shifting recently.

This may be the reason some of you are having problems with directions.   

[scooperhsd]

GOOD POINT ! - But I don't think it has shifted THAT MUCH YET

[MarkT]

I have always made it a point to be constantly aware of my geospatial positioning and vector.  I feel 'lost' if I become aware I am unaware.  I suppose then I AM literally lost.  (I hate the abuse of that word)  As a result I rarely get disoriented.  And this is before GPS.  It was horrible to me the time decades ago when we 3 hunters were in the north woods - BIG forest of N Wisconsin - and got lost trying to get out of the woods.  None of the usual woodsmanship worked.  The moss was on all sides of the trees.  Solid overcast.  Iron in the ground so compass needle just spun. We walked in circles for hours.  "HEY - we were just in this clearing an hour ago!  I'm taking over the lead."  We finally cut a powerline right-of-way and followed it out.  Luckily before it got dark.  Or we might still be zombies wandering those woods.  Picture Ichabod Crane...

[Alberta Patriot]

I still have a bit of room on my Right Panel next to the USB for a Compass

[Jess from VA]

Sometimes I am not entirely sure where I am, but I am rarely lost.

Many years ago (boy scouts), I was truly lost in deep woods for a lengthy part of one day.  I didn't like that feeling at all.  Neither did the group of scouts I was leading.

Hey Jess, haven't we been by here before?

Yeah, I think you're right.  Which way were we going last time?  

(Pointing) That way.

OK, we're not going that way again.

Sounds like a plan.... sort of.  

First we got lost, then we backtracked, then we used the sun to find compass points, and due East finally got us out of there.  

Guess where we were going?  The only girls/women in the huge scouting area were in a shop near the main gate, and we decided to go look at them (after a week of a two week stay).

Testosterone; getting men and boys lost since the dawn of time.   (And a GPS is no help at all)

[..]

You are never lost if you remember you are always directly above the center of the earth.   

[cookiedough]

I have always made it a point to be constantly aware of my geospatial positioning and vector.  I feel 'lost' if I become aware I am unaware.  I suppose then I AM literally lost.  (I hate the abuse of that word)  As a result I rarely get disoriented.  And this is before GPS.  It was horrible to me the time decades ago when we 3 hunters were in the north woods - BIG forest of N Wisconsin - and got lost trying to get out of the woods.  None of the usual woodsmanship worked.  The moss was on all sides of the trees.  Solid overcast.  Iron in the ground so compass needle just spun. We walked in circles for hours.  "HEY - we were just in this clearing an hour ago!  I'm taking over the lead."  We finally cut a powerline right-of-way and followed it out.  Luckily before it got dark.  Or we might still be zombies wandering those woods.  Picture Ichabod Crane...

Hey Mark,  I think you and me shared that same woods years ago.  My brother and I got lost for hours late in the afternoon in unknown woods that looked all the same to us not use to the massive forestland area.  We kept walking in circles finding that same lake using the scope to make sure it was the same lake from afar.  We knew the lake so walked the OTHER way and got out of there finding the service forest road we needed thankfully at about 7 p.m. in pitch black darkness to find my dad worried sick something happened to us in deer camp.    We were so paranoid we were never getting out we fired 3 shots in a row in the air several times having plenty of bullets left to spare of course when it was past deer hunting hours near dark or in the dark.  That was before we had cell phones with lights on them and never carried flashlights with us or cigarette lighter (never smoked).  It was getting pretty HAIRY indeed when darkness set upon us thinking we were miles and miles away from camp when in reality only like a mile or so.  WRONG way though and next road was well over 20 miles away heading in wrong direction.

[Black Pearl's Captain]

Me Tarzan. (man) Me never been lost.

End of me great story.

[0leman]

Mark's fun and games got me thinking of a "enjoyable" walk I had while working in northern MN.  I had previously never carried a compass while working in the woods.  But then I always had worked in the mountains of MT and AZ and a few other places.  I was looking for some area to put a small logging outfit.  There was some 3' of snow on the ground with the clouds sitting close to the top of the 30' black swamp spruce.  the terrain was flat as most swamp country.  I was walking with snowshoes sinking in about a foot in the rather dry powdery snow.  I had figured out where to put the outfit and was planning on coming back the next to officially lay out the next clear cut block.  As it was getting close to quitting time, I took off in the direction towards my truck.  I had gone about a quarter mile when I heard a piece of equipment start up.   Strange, as the noise was coming from rear, rather than in front of me.   Yeah, I was walking 180 degrees from the direction I should have been going.   After I got back to my office, I dug up a compass and carried it for the rest of my time working the woods.