Academic life regularly involves travel to new cities. Most common are the conferences; the information superhighway can connect people in lots of ways, but some actual face time with peers, colleagues, friends and mentors within one’s discipline is still valuable. (Speaking of which, if you are in the sciences you’ll want to know about ESN’s presence at the upcoming American Scientific Affiliation conference.) One of my favorite parts of a conference is the simple pleasure of walking around a different city. I’ll usually look at a map to pick out some possible destinations of interest, then set out and just see what I can see. Although it happens every time, I’m still kind of pleased and amazed that I wind up knowing my way around, at least for a few blocks around the hotel or conference center. True, the human tendency to arrange cities in grids helps, and there is often a river or ocean or other notable body of water to help provide orientation. Still, I think it’s nifty how well our brains can internalize all that spatial information and navigate from it.
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