# Name for ability to visualize something from overhead

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-ability-to-visualize-something-from-overhead/842031>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 20, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-ability-to-visualize-something-from-overhead/842031 "2019-10-20T04:00:06Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-ability-to-visualize-something-from-overhead/842031/1 "2019-10-20T04:00:06Z")

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I am generally able to draw a fairly accurate overhead map/diagram of a place or a building/house by retaining a good idea of what the layout of a place would look like if viewed from above. I wonder if there is a name for this?

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-ability-to-visualize-something-from-overhead/842031/2 "2019-10-20T04:11:04Z")

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I don’t know, but the word “cartogenerative” is something that gets a single Google hit! (Until Google indexes this page)

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**Author:** ![road\_lobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d78d45/32.png) [@road\_lobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/road_lobo)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-ability-to-visualize-something-from-overhead/842031/3 "2019-10-20T04:26:16Z")

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Imagination

Spatial visualization ability

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**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-ability-to-visualize-something-from-overhead/842031/4 "2019-10-20T04:53:42Z")

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Well, the usual term for that kind of view is “plan view.” You can backform something from that.

A century ago, architects with a particular talent for room layout were called “planners,” before that came to be short for “city planners.”

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**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-ability-to-visualize-something-from-overhead/842031/5 "2019-10-20T05:19:35Z")

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I believe the phrase you’re looking for is “[mental rotation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_rotation).”

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**Author:** ![Ornery\_Bob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@Ornery\_Bob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ornery_Bob)\
**Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-for-ability-to-visualize-something-from-overhead/842031/6 "2019-10-20T22:17:45Z")

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Reminds me of an employment test I once took. You had to pick the shape a flat pattern would make when folded together. Is that the same cognitive ability?