Wayfinding the Science and Mystery of How Humans Navigate the World
by OConner, M. R.
pub. by St. Martins Press (Macmillan), NY - 2019     - - isbn 978-1-250-09696-8
- Contents -- Prologue p.1-20 -- Acknowledgements p.307-309 -- Notes p.311-323 -- Selected Bibliography p.324-343 -- Index p.345-354 -- 354 pages total

This book has 18 chapters, they are divided into 3 parts - Arctic - Australia - Oceania -
In each of the 3 parts the narrative drifts into other concepts which may not specifically be concerned with that part of the world. Consider these additions rather than distractions.
In each of the parts I only list some of the chapters.

Arctic
   The last roadless place - in general pay attention to very small differences and use ALL that nature gives ou.
   Memorysapes - among other things the hippocampus of the brain processes navigation.
   Birds,Bees,Wolves, and Whales
   Navigation made us human - Language built to describe where things were - to eat for instance.

Australia
   Supernomads - Australian native population almost never gets lost
   Dreamtime Cartography - stories and poetry make a map out of words and describe how to get from A to B
   You say Left. I say North - a language that does not have words for relative position. (ie. no Right. Left) and how it makes navigation different / better.

Oceania
   Astronauts of Oceania - yes the Pacific navigators use a lot of astronomy - and other tecniques
   Navigating Climate Change
   also
   This is your brain on GPS - use your ability to navigate with your mind or you may weaken or lose ability.

This book has a lengthy and excellent bibliography. It is not a book to find new navigational tricks.
It is a good book to understand how navigation works in human populations and how it is different some places, and often works quite well.
I recommend this book, not the easiest read, but a good thought provoking one.
~2021-05-04~

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