Letters to the Editor
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I wonder what the sample size was?
Seriously- why do people even get into this silly gender crap? I can read maps, circuit diagrams, cat ears, books, chicken entrails, computer entrails, and stars.
And I'm a straight female. When I was in the military, my male colleagues used to squabble over who would get to have me as their navigator, because I cannot get lost. Sure, maybe we'd take the 'scenic route', but we always got there, and usually before everyone else. In Germany. In the dark. In the boonies.
I think that navigational ability (along with a lot of others) has more to do with culture and environment than it does with gender. If a woman is raised to be dependent on another and doesn't get around much- she'll be a crappy navigator. Hey, so will a guy! If a woman gets to live in different places and travels, and learns how to navigate, she'll be a great navigator.
I always know where I am. Nine times out of ten, I'll even tell you where North is. And I pore over maps- getting the 'picture' in my head, and then mapping it to the real place. It's something I do everywhere I go. It's always cool to be able to give natives directions in a place I'm visiting!