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Abstract

in many north-sensing creatures.The research did not achieve its aim. It has not proved that humans have built-in compass in their heads like the migratory birds.Let me add that in 1980, an <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-some-people-have-a-good-sense-of-direction/">experiment</a> participated in by University of Manchester students was conducted. Its aim was to determine if people with good aptitude in direction had a sense of the magnetic north. It reaped positive results, but such results could not be replicated.<h2 id="4e65">Developmental topographical disorientation (DTD), a learning disability</h2>Despite my poor sense of direction, my anxiety did not rise a notch. I accepted this situation as stereotypical: men are good with directions and women easily get lost. (But it could be the other way around, of course.)It did not upset me that based on laboratory <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-do-some-people-have-such-a-poor-sense-of-direction/">tests</a>, people with a better sense of direction have larger relevant structures (related to compass-like processes) in their frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.Other research showed links to personality <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/talking-apes/201806/why-certain-people-have-terrible-sense-direction">factors</a>.That is, those with a better sense of direction are said to be extroverts, open-minded, more adventurous and more conscientious and diligent in getting things done.I am open-minded and conscientious most of the time, but not an extrovert. Still, I would not take grievance against the above research result.What horrified me was when I came across this condition — developmental topographical disorientation (DTD) as a learning disability.An <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/living-with-no-sense-of-direction/">opinion piece</a>, dated Feb 2020, posted by Dr Charles Zanor on Scientific American focused on one of his patients who was diagnosed with DTD.Dr Zanor referred to his patient’s DTD as a “lifelong learning disability”. The specifics on the patient’s DTD condition was provided in the article.Suffice it to say that the patient who, interestingly, worked as a school bus driver (!!!) for 20 years — found it very difficult to even draw a diagram of the first floor of her house.(Whew! I don’t have DTD after all. I can easily draw diagrams of the houses where I have lived.)<h2 id="59ac">‘Not knowing which way north is’ seen as symptom of insanity</h2>It might be deemed absurd but in Bali (Indonesia), people who couldn’t tell which way north is, is considered as a <a href="https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/why-some-people-have-a-good-sense-of-direction/">symptom</a> of insanity.If that wasn’t upsetting to me, I wouldn’t know what is.But I dug deeper. I could not let this slur on my sanity survive another day.<h2

Options

id="9438">This is what I found:</h2>In Balinese, the word kaja is sometimes translated as “north”.If you’re in South Bali, kaja would appear to mean just that — north.However, as you travel to the countryside, there are villages where that word, kaja, could seem to mean south, east or west.Direction terms in Bali is based on geographic landmarks, as against points in a compass.<figure id="1b89"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*Y2aKx-UplIJkMJFplqWxVg.jpeg"><figcaption>Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/klaus_schrodt-92042/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=211559">klaus_schrodt</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=211559">Pixabay</a></figcaption></figure>So kaja really meant “uphill”, which is usually towards Gunung Agung, that big volcano located in the center of Bali island.In villages where Gunung Agung is not visible, kaja would refer to a different mountain, the biggest in the area, instead.Heaving a sigh of relief, this is my take on that insanity slur towards people who didn’t know which way north is.Yes, it makes sense to accuse someone who could not tell which way north / kaja / uphill is, in Bali.If one could not see the direction to the biggest mountain (or volcano) in the area, what would you make of this person?<h2 id="bdc7">Takeaways</h2><ul><li>DTD is, indeed, a learning disability. It is the inability to orient oneself within the environment. This disability is acquired, usually, from lesions to different cerebral regions in the attentional, perceptual or memory functions involved during navigation. DTD was first identified in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0028393208003588?via%3Dihub">2009</a>.</li><li>The Balinese word kaja takes on a rather complex meaning, either north in South Bali or east, south, west or uphill in certain villages in the Bali countryside. With such confusing directions, who wouldn’t be stricken with temporary insanity?</li><li>There is nothing wrong with people like me — and there are <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog/talking-apes/201806/why-certain-people-have-terrible-sense-direction">plenty</a> of us — who easily get lost. Individual differences in the way people make and use mental maps are considerable.</li><li>However, those with a poor sense of direction should perhaps banish the anxiety about getting lost, and focus instead on learning the way to the hairdresser or to the nearest shopping outlets for the next massive sale.</li><li>For people who have a better sense of direction, remember that not everyone is like you, gifted with a yet-to-be-confirmed sixth sense to the magnetic north.</li></ul>Thank you very much for reading!</article></body>

Is Poor Sense of Direction a Learning Disability?

Or is not knowing which way is north a symptom of insanity?

Migratory birds know their way over land and oceans- Photo by **Ella Wei** from **Pexels**

That I lack a good sense of direction would not surprise people who are close to me. I am probably one of the most incapable persons on earth when it comes to finding my way even after being in a particular place dozens of times.

Yes, I’m that bad. But I can remember landmarks. Getting there, however, would be difficult for me.

This is probably why I never learned to drive — I didn’t even attempt to learn how to drive. The unconscious worry of losing my way must have zapped my interest in driving.

People with built-in compass in their heads

My husband is the total opposite (thank goodness!). We would drive to places he hasn’t been in before, and never once had we lost our way. He hardly uses the satnav, by the way.

Or we would go for walks to places we had never been, and explore “what’s out there” at the end of the woods.

I always protest, my personal fear of getting lost in high gear. Even exploring the city centers in Manchester and Leeds makes me anxious, my poor sense of direction gets the better of me.

But we were never lost. My husband has a remarkable sense of direction. It seems to me that he has a compass in his head, just like migratory birds.

Do humans possess a sixth sense towards the Earth’s magnetic field?

A research participated in by 29 volunteers was done in 2019 by the California Institute of Technology and the University of Tokyo. Its purpose was to check if humans have magnetorecepetion, an ancient sensory system found in bacteria, protozoans and a variety of animals.

Birds and fish are known to have magnetorecepetion, a built-in compass, which enable them to accurately navigate huge distances across the globe.

In the research, it was stated by Caltech geophysicist Joe Kirschvink, one of the authors of the study, that human cells have magnetite or iron crystals. This, he proposed, could be affected by the magnetic field of the Earth, like miniature compass needles.

Kirschvink added that many animal tissues make tiny magnetic crystals, enough magnetite to “torque them into alignment with Earth’s magnetic field” and which was observed in many north-sensing creatures.

The research did not achieve its aim. It has not proved that humans have built-in compass in their heads like the migratory birds.

Let me add that in 1980, an experiment participated in by University of Manchester students was conducted. Its aim was to determine if people with good aptitude in direction had a sense of the magnetic north. It reaped positive results, but such results could not be replicated.

Developmental topographical disorientation (DTD), a learning disability

Despite my poor sense of direction, my anxiety did not rise a notch. I accepted this situation as stereotypical: men are good with directions and women easily get lost. (But it could be the other way around, of course.)

It did not upset me that based on laboratory tests, people with a better sense of direction have larger relevant structures (related to compass-like processes) in their frontal and temporal lobes of the brain.

Other research showed links to personality factors.

That is, those with a better sense of direction are said to be extroverts, open-minded, more adventurous and more conscientious and diligent in getting things done.

I am open-minded and conscientious most of the time, but not an extrovert. Still, I would not take grievance against the above research result.

What horrified me was when I came across this condition — developmental topographical disorientation (DTD) as a learning disability.

An opinion piece, dated Feb 2020, posted by Dr Charles Zanor on Scientific American focused on one of his patients who was diagnosed with DTD.

Dr Zanor referred to his patient’s DTD as a “lifelong learning disability”. The specifics on the patient’s DTD condition was provided in the article.

Suffice it to say that the patient who, interestingly, worked as a school bus driver (!!!) for 20 years — found it very difficult to even draw a diagram of the first floor of her house.

(Whew! I don’t have DTD after all. I can easily draw diagrams of the houses where I have lived.)

‘Not knowing which way north is’ seen as symptom of insanity

It might be deemed absurd but in Bali (Indonesia), people who couldn’t tell which way north is, is considered as a symptom of insanity.

If that wasn’t upsetting to me, I wouldn’t know what is.

But I dug deeper. I could not let this slur on my sanity survive another day.

This is what I found:

In Balinese, the word kaja is sometimes translated as “north”.

If you’re in South Bali, kaja would appear to mean just that — north.

However, as you travel to the countryside, there are villages where that word, kaja, could seem to mean south, east or west.

Direction terms in Bali is based on geographic landmarks, as against points in a compass.

So kaja really meant “uphill”, which is usually towards Gunung Agung, that big volcano located in the center of Bali island.

In villages where Gunung Agung is not visible, kaja would refer to a different mountain, the biggest in the area, instead.

Heaving a sigh of relief, this is my take on that insanity slur towards people who didn’t know which way north is.

Yes, it makes sense to accuse someone who could not tell which way north / kaja / uphill is, in Bali.

If one could not see the direction to the biggest mountain (or volcano) in the area, what would you make of this person?

Takeaways

DTD is, indeed, a learning disability. It is the inability to orient oneself within the environment. This disability is acquired, usually, from lesions to different cerebral regions in the attentional, perceptual or memory functions involved during navigation. DTD was first identified in 2009.
The Balinese word kaja takes on a rather complex meaning, either north in South Bali or east, south, west or uphill in certain villages in the Bali countryside. With such confusing directions, who wouldn’t be stricken with temporary insanity?
There is nothing wrong with people like me — and there are plenty of us — who easily get lost. Individual differences in the way people make and use mental maps are considerable.
However, those with a poor sense of direction should perhaps banish the anxiety about getting lost, and focus instead on learning the way to the hairdresser or to the nearest shopping outlets for the next massive sale.
For people who have a better sense of direction, remember that not everyone is like you, gifted with a yet-to-be-confirmed sixth sense to the magnetic north.

Thank you very much for reading!