Center Brained People

When someone feels a concept is too difficult to grasp, the key is to approach it with patience, persistence, and strategy. Here are five practical steps that can help: 1. Change Your Mindset Adopt a Growth Mindset : Believe that understanding is possible with effort and time. Remind yourself that every expert was once a beginner. Reframe the Problem : Instead of saying, “I can’t understand this,” say, “I haven’t figured this out yet.”   Instead of saying, “I’ll never learn to identify directions,” say, “I haven’t yet figured out directions. But I will… eventually?” 2. Break It Down Simplify : Break the concept into smaller, manageable parts and tackle each one step by step. Find the Basics : Often, confusion arises from missing foundational knowledge. Review the basics to build a stronger understanding. To be able to find your way in your hometown, tackle the smallest tasks first – going to the store or house on your ...

   Self Evaluation - Are You Spatially Adept or Challenged? There are many, many persons who are unable to accurately locate themselves, in relation to other people or places and objects. Many of them may believe that they are different, but they may not realize that they are not singular in their inability. Although studies on the spatially challenged are few and far between, Scientists and educations are becoming more and more aware of the need to delve into the world of the directionally challenged . The Santa Barbara Sense of Direction (SBSOD) Self-Test For those who are not sure if they are spatially or directionally challenged, here is a neat self-applied test you can use to assess yourself. It was created by a team of researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara (hence its name), led by Mary R. Hegarty . The fifteen questions on the test " ask you about your spatial and navigational abilities, preferences, and experiences," and your score reflects what...

  The Frustration of Following Wrong Signals on the Road Have you ever been on the highway, trailing behind someone who just can’t seem to figure out their directions? It happens more often than you’d think. Some drivers truly struggle with left and right, or with east and west, and the result can be maddening—sometimes even dangerous—for those behind them.   Here's a scenario: The Turn Signal Switcheroo You’re driving in the city. The car ahead signals a right turn, so you ease up, expecting them to pull over. At the last second, they swing left instead—straight across the lane. Horns blare, brakes screech, and everyone behind them is left trying to recover. What do you do? As inclined as you are to curse out that driver, or worse, just pause for a moment and consider that the wrong signals may not necessarily be the fault of that driver. It may be that he/she is oblivious to the fact that the wrong signal was given, and may just be concerned about getting "over there....

Unraveling the Mystery of Handedness Have you ever found yourself in a perpetual state of confusion, unsure of which hand to use for a simple task? Do you awkwardly switch between your right and left hands, feeling like you're an outlier in a world of confident righties and lefties? If so, you're not alone. The world of handedness is a fascinating one, a topic ripe for exploration. The Right-Handed Majority: A Tale of Genes and Evolution Let's start with the basics. Why are most people right-handed? It's a question that has puzzled scientists for centuries, and the answer is a complex blend of genetics, brain development, and even external pressures. For starters,  handedness is not a simple, binary choice, but a spectrum of preferences and abilities.   A  strong genetic component is at play. Studies of identical twins show that if one twin is right-handed, the other is very likely to be as well. While no single "right-handedness gene" has been discovered, res...

Lost Again? The Truth About Many “Absent-Minded” People   We all know someone who seems to live in a gentle fog — the kind who puts their keys in the fridge or forgets why they walked into a room. Perhaps you are that person! I have been known to get lost in the middle of many a journey, but my friend, Molly (not her real name), seems to take “absent-minded” to a whole new level. I know that it’s easy to laugh at some of our mix-ups, but the truth is, there’s something much more real at play. Many of us are not actually scatterbrained — we’re just directionally challenged . Molly and I are directionally challenged! That means we struggle to tell left from right, east from west, or north from south. Even if we’ve been somewhere before, there’s no guarantee that the next time we make the same trip, we’ll not end up going the wrong way. Have you ever been out walking before, happily enjoying the scenery, when suddenly you stop in the middle of the sidewalk, look around like a ...

 Words of Wisdom? There are times when we can hear thoughts that are real gems. We just know that those words emanate from a wellspring of deep wisdom, and the thoughts behind the words were founded on principled observation, experience, contemplation and conclusion. I love to sit quietly sometimes and contemplate the fissiparity of the human experience. One school of thought attributed to the "frog" says, "what is a joke to you is death to me!" Another, attributed to the "donkey," says, "This world is not level." These two sayings are particularly apt as I compare and contrast the existence of a well-oriented and navigationally savvy person, with that of someone like me, who just cannot get their coordinates right. What thoughts do the following quotations evoke in you? Oliver Wendell Holmes: "A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimension." I agree. We must endeavor to learn at least one new thing...

IT TAKES A VILLAGE! Every journey begins with the first step. Every road trip begins with the first mile. Getting everyone to be fully cognizant of the  vicissitudes  of the directionally challenged will take some doing, but I have already taken the first steps. My book, Center Brained: Why you can't tell left from right, east from west or north from south gives a first-hand account of what it means to be directionally challenged. Not only that; it also gives some very plausible explanations about why some people are directionally challenged. It also supplies some practical strategies for mitigating the effects of directional challenge, as well as possible solutions for the problematic situation in which many directionally challenged individuals find themselves. I need to hear from you who also have difficulties navigating from one point to another, as well as you who never dreamed that such a situation exits, and, also from everyone else in between. Download a copy of the eb...