Letters to the Editor
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Nymicki: Yet another women posts before reading and thinking
Statistically, we know women open their mouths before thinking.
Nymicki says:
Women are demeaned by this kind of false science. What type of women were given maps? Were they non-drivers, inexperienced travelers, poorly educated or were they seasoned drivers and travelers. Was there a control group? What sort of maps were used. I could go on and on, but I'm sure my point is made. Has anyone done a study of men who refuse to use maps or ask directions? And then what would the headline be?
I dunno Nymicki, I have heard there is no such thing as a dumb question, but still, since ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED BY CLICKING ON THE LINK, I guess I have to make an exception in your case.
Nymicki, they say that most stupid people are too unaware to know they are stupid. Maybe you're not the navigator you think you are.
And no, my guess is that this "study" did not use a control group.
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I am surprised you were able to make it through this study without vomiting or fainting
Kudos Carol for making it all the way through the research. I know it must have been difficult to hear of such ugly science.
MIT biology professor Nancy Hopkins, infamously reported that she avoided fainting or vomiting at Summers’s remarks only by running from the room
Carol, how were you able to do that? Any tips?
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I get lost all the time
But if I get lost ONCE on a trip, the next time I make that trip I have no problem finding where I am going. OTOH, if I rely on a human navigator telling me what to do, I never can remember how to do it.
I have no problem reading maps, but I never have any idea which direction I am going (NSWE) unless there is a sign in front of me. If I am given directions now, I prefer to be told in terms of L/R turns rather than East/West.
I put it all down to left-handedness. I had trouble with left/right well into high school, and used to have to pick up a writing utensil to remember which was which.
My also left-handed boyfriend has the same trouble I do, and while we regularly get lost together on trips, we ALSO understand the other's navigational problems and there is never any nagging or recriminations.
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I don't worry about getting lost
I'm sure that no matter what my wife will tell me where to whether she knows where she's going or not. See it doesn't matter if you're right as long as you do it with strident commitment.
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Reminds me of the old joke...
...about why women are such poor judges of distance (holds thumb and forefinger a tiny distance apart): because all their lives, men have been telling them that this is six inches!
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I'm also pretty dubious about these studies...
... that purport to show that "men are good at this, and women are good at that". But I can't resist pointing out a fallacy in your opener:
Seriously, I love research that declares my inferiority in an area where I (with all due humility) tend to whup most men's butts.
Of course, the article didn't say anything about your personal ability at map reading, which I don't doubt is excellent (my wife is the same way). It said that women as a group are not as good as men at this task. These two statements are not at all the same thing.
Whether the article's actual claim is true or not - color me unconvinced.
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Oh, Christ...
Seriously, I love research that declares my inferiority in an area where I (with all due humility) tend to whup most men's butts. So I was smugly drawn to a new study from the University of Warwick in the U.K. that found that straight women really suck when it comes to reading maps.
Seriously, I hate reading disingenuous crap from intelligent women who should damned well know better than to imply that a study which measures the average skills of a sample of people says anything about the particular skills of any single member of the population.
I'm sure if they did a study, they'd find that women had longer hair than men, but that doesn't mean I don't have locks down to my harbls.
And where exactly do "spot the difference" skills play into reading maps? I know where "mental rotation" skills do...
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Are we doing a poll?
I (being straight female) am a map queen. Having a small sports car in the 80's (which I fixed myself, thank you very much) I found all the back roads between point A and B so that I could soar alone without semitrucks and traffic. I continue to be a back road driver, and a map is essential to finding the best, most scenic, least encumbered way to go. Most county roads are wonderful, if you are travelling across states. AND for all us mapophiles, Google Map has the satellite feature so you can also SEE the landmarks and the lay of the land before you go. Rejoice sisters!
I should add, my husband gets lost continually without me in the car. These studies are designed for people who prefer to think that all abilities are gender-specific, while the reality is that they vary across individuals.
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Map reading
...is about judging angles? Really? Because in my experience, judging an angle is pretty much useless when trying to read a road map. What's more important is, well, the spatial relation-- how interstate X connects with route Y, and where.
Having said that, I too am the family navigator, and I too aced the angle portion of the test and did more poorly on the 'objects in space' one.
Not sure there are really any great insights here-- other than the well-known fact that headlines are written to be provocative more than accurate. Still, the study's kind of fun.
(Don't you trolls have a bridge to lurk under?)
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So what does this scenario mean?
I can pretty much *always* tell you the points of the compass, no matter where I am.
Once I find my way somewhere, I can always find it again, even without directions.
Once I've gone somewhere, I can backtrack my original route pretty much without fail.
Not so good with maps, though not inept. Closer would be to say I just don't like them much.
So does that make me a man or a woman?