How do you feel about puzzles…things like word search, find the missing items, etc? My Dad, a car mechanic and avid fisherman, was drawn to puzzles. He couldn’t get enough of them, getting lost for hours in putting each piece in its perfect spot. Maybe it’s the sense of accomplishment that your 1000 pieces match the photo on the box or the calmness of focusing on a singular task, an extremely spatial task.
Like I mentioned last month, making things is fun for me and puzzles are an easy connection to that pastime. I didn’t realize it but all those puzzles that I loved as a kid and then those years in high school marching band…all paved the way for my proclivity for geospatial technologies.
The iconic Stonehenge in England as imaged by Pete Linforth from Pixabay.My brain, even my physical body, was trained to be more spatial than some of my peers. Does that make me smarter? Probably not, but it is sometimes perceived that way as those people that easily can mentally move things around and envision how all the things will fit in a prescribed space.
Let’s look at loading a dishwasher. The manual might make some recommendations, but rarely do two people perform that task the same. I always put the cups on the top rack and the plates lined up parallel to the utensil basket; however, my husband has a radically different approach. He loads according to what he picks up first without a visual layout. I learned long ago from a wise friend to never complain or micromanage when partners voluntarily help with household tasks. Both ways are fine! The dishes are clean. There are occasions where spatial planning matters like building things. Imagine what Stonehenge might have looked like without some careful spatial planning. Even a replica like the one near my home takes some thought.
According to Frontiers for Young Minds, “We use spatial thinking to understand the location (position) and dimensions (such as length and size) of objects, and how different objects are related to each other. It is important to understand that spatial thinking is not just one skill, but a set of different skills.” When experts begin to outline the different spatial measures (mental rotation, disembedding, spatial scaling, and navigation), all I see is geospatial technology. Diana Sinton wrote, “‘Geospatial’ sets a scale that limits spatial to the domain of the Earth and the human activities on it.” Turns out whether geospatial or just spatial, it is a set of skills that you can improve.
How do you become better at spatial tasks? According to Healthline, there are some recommendations:
- Pick up a new hobby. Hey, we talked about this last month! “Hobbies like photography and drawing help promote spatial awareness.”
- Try video games. “Focus on games where you manipulate and move objects. For example, an older study found that playing Tetris improved spatial skills in older adolescents.”
- Take time to play. “As in children, various games or activities may help improve spatial awareness, such as putting together puzzles, trying out visual memory games, and playing chess.”
- Stay active. “Exercise is good at any age. A 2014 study found that resistance exercise might help improve spatial awareness in older adults.”
Celebrate your spatial self! It might be time to get outside, take some photos and be active, plan a game night, or go beyond your comfort zone. If you need me, I’ll be with my friends on Fridays at game night. You need to stay spatially sharp!
Barbaree Duke
Geospatial Crusader
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