What? You don't have an internal compass that keeps you oriented? For some reason I seem to be a lucky person that just knows which compass direction I'm going no matter where I am. And it's a very weird and frightening feeling if I do get disoriented. I had some pain meds after a surgery that did that to me. Flushed them damn things down the toilet after the first 2 I took.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 5 points 4 days ago (1 children)

That sounds really nice. I’m sure I could develop the skill, but I have to check the Sun

[–] bluewing@lemm.ee 1 points 3 days ago

While I'm sure there is learned effort, I do feel like there is something inside my brain that just has a connection to north somehow. Kind of like how ducks and geese know which way to travel when migrating. I can't really explain it well.

[–] gnu@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

And it’s a very weird and frightening feeling if I do get disoriented.

I know what you mean, there has been a couple of times in my life where my internal idea of direction has been turned off course and it is a very weird feeling indeed trying to reconcile the direction you internally believe you're facing against the different direction a map or compass is telling you is actually true.

As a kid I also once spent a weekend in Melbourne feeling somewhat disconcerted due to not being able to get a sense of direction. I'd never been there before and flew in on an overcast day which never ended up letting up until I flew out so never ended up getting my bearings while we were down there (didn't help that this was before the smartphone era so maps weren't available at the drop of a hat).

[–] bluewing@lemm.ee 1 points 3 days ago

I have a similar experience when I go a city in my state - St. Paul. If I go downtown for any reason, I always feel a bit uneasy walking about and I didn't know why for the longest time. I finally found out that the streets in the downtown aren't laid out on the cardinal points-- They were laid out on a slight bias due to being right up against the Mississippi river. And that makes me a little uncomfortable when looking down a block of buildings or from one street to the next at an intersection. It's always a little bit wonky feeling.

[–] ATDA@lemmy.world 2 points 4 days ago

I'm with you. Short of that one day dead noon Hawaii or the middle of a forest I feel like there are clues to approximate North and South even when I'm discombobulated.