# Can you easily identify compass points? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 3, 2011, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-easily-identify-compass-points/595048 "2011-09-03T12:22:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-easily-identify-compass-points/595048/61 "2011-09-06T16:12:30Z")
i think it is not so much a matter of not being able to figure it out as much as simply not being in the vocabulary because it is \*never used. \* the only reason i am so comfortable with it myself is because it is used in games. although i can, i don’t use the sun for orientation. i use landmarks or, in the case of buildings, the main entrance. if you live in a city, there is little advantage to knowing the compass points with so many easily identifiable landmarks to choose from. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-easily-identify-compass-points/595048/62 "2011-09-06T16:17:40Z")
I used to have a really good internal compass. These days, uh, not so much. But if I’m someplace where I know which way the streets go or if the sun is out (and it’s not noon), I’d manage. What kills me is the freeways that say they’re going west, when they’re clearly going south! (or whatever) ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-easily-identify-compass-points/595048/63 "2011-09-06T16:51:12Z")
In Montreal, absolutely. The roads and street numbering have a semi-grid NS/EW orientation with respect to the St Lawrence river (or Lachine Canal) and the boulevard St Laurent (“the Main”) respectively. One catch, though, is that Montreal’s “compass” isn’t the geographical one - “west” is more “north west”, so if I’m giving directions, it’s based on the street map and not the planet! Elsewhere, given a few days to figure out a landmark or two and the general street layout, I’m pretty good at generally identifying NESW. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-easily-identify-compass-points/595048/64 "2011-09-06T17:21:47Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > the only reason i am so comfortable with it myself is because it is used in games. Classic text adventure games from the 70s and 80s have been lampooned sometimes for their constant use of compass directions, both in describing the scenery and in implementing how the player moves around. Even after waking up in an underground cavern, without a compass, your character seems to know which way north is. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-easily-identify-compass-points/595048/65 "2011-09-06T17:33:20Z")
yeah but it really does help. i don’t need North so much as simply an ‘up’ direction to place everything on my mental map. ---
**Author:** ![Chopper9760](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Chopper9760](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chopper9760)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-easily-identify-compass-points/595048/66 "2011-09-06T17:41:39Z")
I have a good sense of direction but living out west spoils a person. There are mountains sticking up like big ole road signs everywhere you go, it’s pretty difficult to get lost. I’m horribly ignorant about the names of streets where I grew up. I think it comes from knowing the area well before I could drive or was expected to give directions. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-easily-identify-compass-points/595048/67 "2011-09-06T17:52:03Z")
My family is totally lacking the sense of direction gene. But I worked in real estate for 26 years and had to figure out directions. It was harder than learning a foreign language, but I’m really good at it now. ---
**Author:** ![Teufelblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@Teufelblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teufelblitz)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-easily-identify-compass-points/595048/68 "2011-09-06T18:52:12Z")
I generally tell people that they are better off asking someone else for directions. I can get myself to where I am going if I’m driving, but there are no cardinal directions in my thought processes. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-easily-identify-compass-points/595048/69 "2011-09-07T03:20:15Z")
I grew up loving geography and geology. When I was 9 I had my bedroom wallpapered with the maps of all different countries that came folded into issues of National Geographic. The cardinal directions were my friends the way Thomas the Tank Engine or My Little Ponies are other kids’ friends. I never had any fear of them. I mean, how could I not make friends with them? My planet is, you know, put together this way! And I love my planet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-you-easily-identify-compass-points/595048.md?page=3)