I know you weren’t asking for advice, but a good first step is to set your map navigation to always show North up (not route up). This helps mental map pieces align and fall into place.
Spatial reasoning is one of my strong suits, and I’ve been called neurotypical. For me, it’s more like I automatically build up a rough map in my head as I travel. Or if I see a printed map, it’s like I take a blurry snapshot (definitely not eidetic) that I can follow later if I make a little effort to remember it.
It’s not exactly that I imagine flying over the landscape, but more that the mental map is a standalone structure. I can easily rotate it in 3D space, zoom in or out on a spot, or place myself anywhere relative to it. The level of detail depends how much time and effort went into the mapping.
My partner has very little sense of direction in most places. She has mild ASD, can’t make a mental map at all, and mostly goes by landmarks I think.
I played with a lot of Legos and Transformers toys as a kid, and had fun playing Descent 2 as a young teen, so all that probably contributed for me.
That is exactly my experience, albeit described much better than I’ve ever attempted. Do you also visualize math problems in similar ways? I found the ability extremely useful in calc and other higher maths.
I think it helps with math that’s already mostly visual or spatial, yeah. I crushed geometry in high school with like 110%. It helps somewhat with calculus, but not much at all for basic algebra. It can help with other subjects like physics or o-chem reaction mechanisms. It might’ve even helped with my art history classes, at least the portions on sculpture and architecture.
Same. I killed geometry. I though it was also very helpful in calc for visualizing derivatives and integrals. I also visualize equations moving around, so it was helpful with algebra. Kinda like a mental chalkboard.
I don’t approach math the same way most people I’ve encountered do, and I’ve always assumed it was due to this visualization.
I also share such an experience. My spatial reasoning helps me a lot with linear algebra. However considering that it goes still down in 3D space, it’s very similar.
As a person without much of a visual element to my thoughts, and with a pretty good natural sense of direction, I plan my routes by imaging/“feeling” the turns I will make.
Is that not how everyone sees their routes? Genuinely asking.
I can do this in fictional videogame worlds but I can’t navigate my own home county without Google maps lmao.
(Not diagnosed with anything but I have my suspicions, so ig take that fwiw)
I know you weren’t asking for advice, but a good first step is to set your map navigation to always show North up (not route up). This helps mental map pieces align and fall into place.
Spatial reasoning is one of my strong suits, and I’ve been called neurotypical. For me, it’s more like I automatically build up a rough map in my head as I travel. Or if I see a printed map, it’s like I take a blurry snapshot (definitely not eidetic) that I can follow later if I make a little effort to remember it.
It’s not exactly that I imagine flying over the landscape, but more that the mental map is a standalone structure. I can easily rotate it in 3D space, zoom in or out on a spot, or place myself anywhere relative to it. The level of detail depends how much time and effort went into the mapping.
My partner has very little sense of direction in most places. She has mild ASD, can’t make a mental map at all, and mostly goes by landmarks I think.
I played with a lot of Legos and Transformers toys as a kid, and had fun playing Descent 2 as a young teen, so all that probably contributed for me.
That is exactly my experience, albeit described much better than I’ve ever attempted. Do you also visualize math problems in similar ways? I found the ability extremely useful in calc and other higher maths.
I think it helps with math that’s already mostly visual or spatial, yeah. I crushed geometry in high school with like 110%. It helps somewhat with calculus, but not much at all for basic algebra. It can help with other subjects like physics or o-chem reaction mechanisms. It might’ve even helped with my art history classes, at least the portions on sculpture and architecture.
Same. I killed geometry. I though it was also very helpful in calc for visualizing derivatives and integrals. I also visualize equations moving around, so it was helpful with algebra. Kinda like a mental chalkboard.
I don’t approach math the same way most people I’ve encountered do, and I’ve always assumed it was due to this visualization.
I also share such an experience. My spatial reasoning helps me a lot with linear algebra. However considering that it goes still down in 3D space, it’s very similar.
As a person without much of a visual element to my thoughts, and with a pretty good natural sense of direction, I plan my routes by imaging/“feeling” the turns I will make.
I plan my routes by looking at a map and tracing my finger on it. In the rare times I’m not using google maps