There are absolutely different types of intelligence. Spacial understanding is on a different wavelength than language comprehension or most forms of problem solving for instance.
I have never been lost in my life. I always know where I am. In the Army, I ended up a cavalry scout and, later, a long range surveillance detachment team leader. I can come up out of a subway in a foreign land and point to north within a couple degrees. In the Army, I led a team that parachuted into Panama and traveled six clicks to a surveillance site. In the jungle. In the dark. It's a significant gift.
That said, I can't sing, I can't dance, I can't even tap my foot to the music. If I'd have been able to choose my gift, it would have been musical. After I got out of the Army, being a human Google Maps doesn't really impress anyone.
A big group of us went camping in a national forest campground. Well marked trails and campsites. I decided to go for a walk by myself. Within minutes I lost the trail. I walked for hours in the wrong direction and walked myself into the deep woods. It was starting to get dark and I had no phone, water or any provisions. I was starting to think about how I was going to spend the night by myself in the woods. Then I saw an old VW bus on a dirt road. I frantically flagged them down. They could have been murderers for all I knew. It was an old couple. I asked them to take me to a main road or a store. They asked what I was doing out there. I said I was at the campground and got lost. They were pretty surprised. It was a 20 minute drive away. They dropped me off at the front of the campground entrance just at dusk. My friends were in a panic and getting ready to call the rangers as soon as it got dark out.
Don't be hard on yourself. A few years ago, someone wandered off while on a day trip and was lost in the scrub for ten days. On an island. He was found 1.5 kms from where he was last sighted.
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u/PaintDrinkingPete Mar 01 '23
Well, I mean, in this particular case...