2.10.25 - An observation about living in Manhattan
The most underrated part of New York is its geography, and the way it makes me relate to physical space
I’ve always been someone who is “directionally challenged.” For the most part, I don’t have a good model of where I live in 3D space, and it’s hard for me to picture a bird’s eye view of where I am on a map (Logic Games was my lowest section on the LSAT). Growing up around a lot of dudes, I slowly realized that many had this ability.
I think of things, in general, very linearly, or narratively. When I grew up in my hilly, rolling suburbs, I knew directions well because I knew what landmarks came after what. I didn’t get lost a lot, but again, I really could not build a “map” in my head all that well. I would just use what’s in front of my eyes than a more abstract sense of direction — like North, South, East, West — to orient myself.
However, this often meant that shortcuts evaded me, and sometimes when I looked on Google Maps I was surprised by how close certain neighborhoods or landmarks were in space. I really thought of the paths between things as just that, I did not envision them as connecting two points on a grid. Obviously, as I got older, my ability to build this “map” improved, but for the most part it didn’t fully develop because its the burbs and I started driving anyways. Paying attention to the sun also helped me develop an internal compass.
When I began living in DC, this changed a bit. The presence of really tall landmarks, like the Washington Monument, the Potomac River, and the four quadrant system gave me a better sense of where I was on a “map.” If I thought about it for a second, I could probably tell you what cardinal direction I was facing, and overtime I roughly developed at least a relational map in my mind. Biking around for work and school also really developed this. But it was still rough to what I have now.
Living in Manhattan, and working in Brooklyn for part of the week, I have a video game level internal representation of the map. At any given point, I know what cardinal direction I’m facing, and, at least in Manhattan, I can close my eyes and imagine a map with my coordinates. When I’m on the subway I feel like I can see my little red dot moving on the map. When I’m in Brooklyn, and I see the Empire State Building, I know how far my apartment is in a very visual way. It’s amazing. Right now I’m on a runway looking at the skyline, I see the One World Trade Center and the Empire State Building prominently — it creates a big compass, and I know exactly where I am on the earth. I know that I am west of Manhattan, and because I also have a good sense of those building’s scale because I am so close to them so often, I also feel that I really GET how far I am from the city.
Anyways, I think New York’s Geography + Grid + System + near Compass Alignment is part of what makes it the best city on earth.
knxnts