ida, the navigator


ida was the navigator during my drive in and around kuala lumpur. i have this phobia of getting lost in kl. that's why every time we are in kl, we will leave the car parked in the hotel and rely on public transport to move around. this has been the case ever since we started driving to the malaysian capital in the 80s. once, we got so hopelessly lost that we had to pay a taxi driver to lead us to our destination.

she can read the map much better than ivy. ivy claimed that she was inept at map reading. when i made a wrong turn and got onto another road, ida was able to redirect me to the correct road. she was also able to point out to me the shortest route to take to our destination.

i think her visual-spatial intelligence is superior to ivy's.

spatial intelligence manifests in a variety of ways. transforming mental images is a spatial skill that engineers and designers depend on. when a hiker pauses with map and compass, it is the spatial intelligence that conceptualizes the path. through the spatial sense, a painter "feels" the tension, balance and composition of a painting. spatial ability is also "the more abstract intelligence of a chess master, a battle commander or a theoretical physicist" , as well as the familiar ability to recognize objects, faces, and details.

spatial intelligence is easy to find in any community--architects, contractors, and engineers have it. so do most carpenters and many other trades people.