From here to there : the art and science of finding and losing our way Cover Image

Book

From here to there : the art and science of finding and losing our way / Michael Bond.

Summary:

"How is it that we can walk unfamiliar streets while maintaining a sense of direction? Come up with shortcuts on the fly, in places we've never traveled? The answer is the complex mental map in our brains. This feature of our cognition is easily taken for granted, but it's also critical to our species's evolutionary success. In From Here to There Michael Bond tells stories of the lost and found-Polynesian sailors, orienteering champions, early aviators-and surveys the science of human navigation. Navigation skills are deeply embedded in our biology. The ability to find our way over large distances in prehistoric times gave Homo sapiens an advantage, allowing us to explore the farthest regions of the planet. Wayfinding also shaped vital cognitive functions outside the realm of navigation, including abstract thinking, imagination, and memory. Bond brings a reporter's curiosity and nose for narrative to the latest research from psychologists, neuroscientists, animal behaviorists, and anthropologists. He also turns to the people who design and expertly maneuver the world we navigate: search-and-rescue volunteers, cartographers, ordnance mappers, urban planners, and more. The result is a global expedition that furthers our understanding of human orienting in the natural and built environments"-- Provided by publisher.

Record details

ISBN: 9780674244573
ISBN: 0674244575
Physical Description: x, 288 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color), maps (some color) ; 22 cm
Edition: First Harvard University Press edition.
Publisher: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2020.
Copyright: ©2020

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 229-270) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	The first wayfinders -- Right to roam -- Maps in the mind -- Thinking space -- From A to B and back again -- You go your way, I'll go mine -- Natural navigators -- The psychology of lost -- City sense -- Am I here? -- Epilogue: The end of the road.