Embarrassing Thing I Wonder

[terajk]

While searching for some resources on navigational impairments months ago (of which there are not a whole lot) I found this abstract from a paper published in 1997. I have...bolded something relevant.

"Pure topographic disorientation due to right retrosplenial lesion"

N. Takahashi, MD, M. Kawamura, MD, J. Shiota, MD, N. Kasahata, MD and K. Hirayama, MD

Nobuyoshi Takahashi is the (lead) author of several papers on topographical disorientation/topographical agnosia, etc (as late as 2011). And while the chances of two people with the same surname being related are AHAHAHAHAHA you're kidding, right? I WONDER. Because navigational impairments are scientifically obscure/esoteric and Rumiko Takahashi's portrayal of Ryouga's navigational impairment is just that fucking good, y'all. I swear--she understands things even the research ON MY SYNDROME doesn't get. ("Visual-spatial-organizational skills"? Really? You sure you're not painting with too broad a brush, there?)

In my sort-of-defense, autism researcher Simon Baron-Cohen is the cousin of musician Erran Baron-Cohen and actor Sascha Baron-Cohen (I'm too lazy to comment on the quality of Simon Baron-Cohen's autism science, BTW, and anyway, plenty of autistic people have already done it better. But still.)

Comments

[nenena]

Takahashi is the third-most common surname in Japan.

On the other hand, the fact that a scientist with published research regarding a not-commonly-known impairment and a manga artist who created a series with a scarily accurate depiction of said not-commonly-known impairment does make one go hmmmmm....

[terajk]

I'm positive your first hand is the truth (hence my embarrassment). Also, Rumiko Takahashi has said things like she only writes for entertainment and that no one in Ranma 1/2 is based on anyone she knows. And that she thinks perfect people are boring.

But, yes, hmmmmm is indeed the word.

ETA: Ryouga draws maps occasionally. The one for Akane to his own house had exactly four things: a lake, Mount Fuji, a house and a mailbox "nearby," with arrows pointing in opposite directions. It's the mailbox that makes me particularly handflappy. I navigate by a string of visual things--"First I see this, and then this, and then this..." which is the kind of thinking that makes your own mailbox Relevant. And all these things are just thrown on the paper without any relationship whatever and with a huge empty space in the center.

Another time, he makes a map to show how he found this magical mushroom. Aside from some African tribesmen, the forest he found the mushroom in and I think China, was "a red car."

And then his Actual Girlfriend makes him a map so he can get to their date, and not only is it full of visual things/landmarks (a boat house, a lake, a plateau, the statue where they're supposed to meet--all verbally labeled), but the path he's supposed to take is the main road that ends in this cul-de-sac thing where all the landmarks are--so if you follow this (main) road you can't help finding the place. Of course, as this is Ranma 1/2 stuff goes wrong. But still. Knowing what you know of Ryouga's perception, you can see why she drew his map like this.

And "relevance of visual things that are either too huge or too small to be relevant to most people, without any sense of the spatial relationship between them" is the thing that REALLY made me go: "Takahashi, how did you DO that??" especially as thinking in terms of "visual-spatial skills" tends to obscure this kind of...insight? Knowledge? I dunno. (I was laughing and squeeing and going, "Oh, she wouldn't know about that... NO WAY!" before, but.)

[codeman38]

I navigate by a string of visual things--"First I see this, and then this, and then this..." which is the kind of thinking that makes your own mailbox Relevant.

YES. This is how I navigate as well-- "I need to pass all of these things in order to get to where I need to go." And if I have to make a detour...I'm hopeless.

And the "noticing little details, but having no sense of the spatial relationship" thing? *nods vigorously*

On several occasions, I have mis-remembered a turn as being a straight shot and only realized my mistake when I actually tried to give someone else directions to the place. Or remembered "oh, you need to turn toward so-and-so restaurant" but had no idea which direction it was.

And then there's when I'm trying to figure out the locations corresponding to bus transfers. "Ohhhh! That's the convenience store with the really poorly kerned sign! Why didn't they just say that?!"

I totally remember cracking up at the "Ryoga draws a map" bits, too, because that is totally how I draw them. There is a reason that I am usually not given map-drawing duty when people need to get somewhere that I'm familiar with.