Imagine you're navigating a three-dimensional maze. Believe it or not, in this situation, both men and women think. Only, women think with the distinctly human right prefrontal cortex, while men use the rat-brain navigational instincts of their left hippocampus (according to fMRI studies). Basically, what this means is that while men efficiently snuffle around the corridors, rationally and analytically memorizing each branching path, women look at the map. And if the map is unclear, they ask directions (not to reinforce a pop stereotype, or anything).
Interestingly, before a London cabbie is licensed to drive a black cab, he (or very infrequently she) must pass a test known as The Knowledge. The test requires knowing almost 25,000 streets as well as the points of interest along these streets including squares, clubs, hospitals, hotels, theaters, embassies, government and public buildings, railway stations, police stations, courts, important places of worship, cemeteries, crematoria, parks and open spaces, sports and leisure centers, places of learning, restaurants and historic buildings. Average preparation for The Knowledge takes 34 months and passing the test itself usually requires upwards of 12 attempts. And London's taxi drivers have enlarged hippocampuses compared to the general population. The longer the cabbie's been driving, the bigger the hippocampus.
Can you solve the maze in this blog's header? If so, you've earned the right to click on THIS LINK to learn more about my book, Brain Candy: Science, Paradoxes, Puzzles, Logic and Illogic to Nourish Your Neurons. (Okay, that was one of my lamer shameless plugs. Stay tuned next week for what can only be a better one...)
