Need Directions? Might Not Want To Ask a Transit Rider 97
Daniel_Stuckey writes "According to new research, drivers, walkers, and bicyclists will generally provide us with more useful directions than transit riders. Published in Urban Planning, 'Going Mental' shows that cognitively active travelers, regardless of commute by foot or car, tend to trump cognitively passive travelers (those who frequent public buses and trains), in perceiving distance. Questioning cognitively active, passive, and mixed travelers about distances from a survey site to LA's city hall, the research demonstrated that the passive bus and subway riders have less of a grip on distance. Actively cognitive travelers, according to the results, were more likely to integrate street names in their directions, and also exhibited a sharper understanding of distances."
Re:THIS JUST IN: (Score:5, Funny)
In other news:
Musicians can recognize pitch of the sound better than deaf people.
Special force soldiers fare better in the fight ring than housewifes.
Women are better at bearing babies than men.
Slashdot readers are better at detecting duplicate stories than slashdot editors.
Urban Planners are better at stating the obvious than me...
Re:Of course people who navigate... (Score:5, Funny)
"Now re-run the test asking car and bicycle drivers what metro line or bus route you should take, .and how long it'll take to get there. (Who cares what the distance is - it's time that counts)."
I don't understand the article at all. This is news for nerds, who are in the majority male.
And everybody knows that males don't ask for directions.