I really enjoyed my stint on CBC's Ontario Today yesterday. I have to confess I was a little taken aback when I realized that EVERYONE other than me was in Ottawa and I had this big comfy recording studio in Toronto to myself, but when the sound engineer explained that this meant I could pretty much do whatever I wanted -- kick back, put my feet up, dance around the room, I quickly recognized the possibilities (but then became so engrossed in the conversation that I soon forgot to take advantage of the solitude. I don't think I even made any funny faces. Opportunity lost....).
What I found most fun about the callers' stories was that we heard overwhelmingly from expert wayfinders. With this kind of thing, one expects to hear from the tails of the distribution, so in a way this was not surprising. I could also understand the reluctance of listeners from the other tail to chime in as readily. Who wants to call in and say "I can't find my way out of paper bag", though one stalwart listener called in to tell me pretty much that and I'm grateful for him for carrying the mantle of the lost generation yesterday.
But on the drive home (yes, the eco-nut DROVE as this was the only way to both do a decent job of the interview AND attend my daughter's graduation ceremonies in the evening. There really isn't a proper commuter train system in Southern Ontario -- the most heavily populated region in the country) I thought quite a lot about the comments of the callers. It was certainly true that one common strand among the experts was that they felt that they paid close attention to their surroundings and maintained some level of awareness of their place at all times, but there were also listeners who told me that they never ever ever got lost and they didn't really know why that had this special ability. They just always knew where North was, or home was, or the water was, or where SOMETHING was. This fascinates me.
I'm thinking of starting a little research project on sense of direction in expert navigators. I'm not quite ready to set things up in a formal way yet, but if you think you qualify as an expert, if you're one of those lucky people who never get lost whether in the woods, in the confusing labyrinth of Venice, or in the most byzantine corridors of a confusing government complex, I'd like to hear from you.
I've got a big box of books to give away and I'll let one or two fly away in exchange for a little Canadian wayfinding savvy.
Another radio interview coming up soon for the NPR network. I suspect I'll be by myself for this one as well. I'll be pulling faces this time. And maybe I'll have my feet up on the table too. If you listen in and hear a giant crash, that'll be me tipped over on the floor. Details closer to the date.
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