The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1914-03-26
ARE OF. LITTLE USE TO KEEP BEARINGS
1t Is Easy When a Person Knows
How.
Natural Method Is Used by Birds, Fish,
Insects, Animals and Savages-De-
fective Sense in People Due to
Incorrect School instruction.

Some persons are always getting
turned round" when they step out OF
subways or theaters; others rarely, IL
ever, lose their bearings even in
the most confusing surroundings.
The cause of this difference in people
lies in their childhood training. Those
who are easily confused should blame
their parents and teachers for it.
There are two methods by which
creatures keep their bearings. One is
by keeping in mind the points of the
compass. This may be done by actual
use of a compass, as on the ocean. or
in deep forests, or by noting stars or
the sun.
The second method ignores the
points of the compass and relies on
single point, the starting point. This
is the natural method used by birds,
insects, fish, as well as four-footed anil
mails and savages. Only more or less
civilized man uses the points of the
compass, and he usually uses them
clumsily. Indeed, men often become
hopelessly lost through their inability
to make use of the compass they have
with them.
The remarkable feature of the
natural method is the amount of in
stinctive geometry it involves. A bird
or fish will travel through unfamiliar
territory, changing its direction many
times, and yet when it wants to 80
home it will head for 1t on a bee
line"
As long as the creature keeps on n
straight line he has only to face about
in order to find his way home. AS
soon as he changes his course, prob
lem of geometry is involved. With
each turn the problem becomes more
and more complicated and the strain
on the memory more surprising.
1t may be this subconscious strain
on the memory that brings animals
back to their starting points. Or it
ture makes its muscles instinctively
register in the brain the exact amount
of deviation from the air line home.
Foxes and wolves have central
point, either the place of their birth,
or cave or burrow where they have
this becomes uninhabitable they are
known to appear periodically, gaze at
it and whisk off again. Children
would all take to the natural method
and do pretty well with it if 1t were
not for their early training regarding
the points of the compass.
Recent experiments have shown
that persons who have what is known
as bad sense of direction have
also Imaginary maps" in their minds.
An imaginary map is really set of
false ideas as to where they are.
Ask a person to make a pencil marx
representing the place he is in, and
then indicate the direction of other
cities, and even distant buildings and
streets in his Own town. If these
points are fairly accurate you may be
sure that this person is not one who
is easily confused, no matter where
he is.
With as many as 80 per cent. you
will find the maps are ridiculous.
Many people don't really know which
way the center of the town lies or
the grocer's. To many persons Chi
cago is west of New York, and San
Francisco still farther west, but Japan
and China to them are on the other
side of Europe.
These Imaginary maps which con-
fuse us all our lives are the result OF
our lessons in geography. We are
taught this science long before it in
terests us, and we talk glibly about
east and north without at the same
time placing them in our minds.
A geography teacher should get the
points of the compass in the children's
| minds as regards their desks and the
schoolhouse before a single map is
shown. Then from time to time the
| teacher can test the mental map as
| it grows in each child's head, and cor
rect the imaginary features before
| they take root.