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Why humans totally freak out when they get lost

#1
Leigha Offline
To be lost is a dreadful thing. Most people are unsettled by the slightest threat of it. Fear of being lost appears to be hardwired in the human brain, as visceral as our response to snakes: Millions of years of evolution have taught us that the experience tends not to end well.

https://www.wired.com/story/why-humans-t...-get-lost/


I think it would be insanely unnerving, to be lost alone for a long time, deep in the woods...or a cornfield. My imagination would likely go into overdrive, seeing and hearing things that aren't there, or maybe something is out there...like a wild animal.

Have you ever been lost like this - if so, did you manage to stay calm?
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#2
stryder Offline
(Sep 12, 2021 05:23 AM)Leigha Wrote: To be lost is a dreadful thing. Most people are unsettled by the slightest threat of it. Fear of being lost appears to be hardwired in the human brain, as visceral as our response to snakes: Millions of years of evolution have taught us that the experience tends not to end well.

https://www.wired.com/story/why-humans-t...-get-lost/


I think it would be insanely unnerving, to be lost alone for a long time, deep in the woods...or a cornfield. My imagination would likely go into overdrive, seeing and hearing things that aren't there, or maybe something is out there...like a wild animal.

Have you ever been lost like this - if so, did you manage to stay calm?

I'm one of those people that isn't unnerved when lost, in fact I think of it as a bit of a challenge to regain my bearings and work out where I am. One past occurance had me getting lost after planning directions from leaving a London Tube station. The problem was the station I left from had more than one exit, I took the wrong one so my instructions were completely out, however I had looked at London from a Googlemap overhead and remembered spotting a particular building design that I was able to look for after walking around. The only unnerved reasoning I had at the time was if I was going to be late to where I was suppose to be, I managed to get there early.
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#3
Magical Realist Offline
Great article Leigha!

I have a phobia of getting lost in some unfamiliar city while driving in my car. I always wonder that I have managed to find places in the past with no cellphone and only a map. How did I do it? It seems so complicated now and doomed to failure. I can't even imagine getting lost in a forest. But your article makes it clear we are only a few steps away from losing our way out there at any time.
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#4
Leigha Offline
(Sep 12, 2021 08:41 AM)stryder Wrote:
(Sep 12, 2021 05:23 AM)Leigha Wrote: To be lost is a dreadful thing. Most people are unsettled by the slightest threat of it. Fear of being lost appears to be hardwired in the human brain, as visceral as our response to snakes: Millions of years of evolution have taught us that the experience tends not to end well.

https://www.wired.com/story/why-humans-t...-get-lost/


I think it would be insanely unnerving, to be lost alone for a long time, deep in the woods...or a cornfield. My imagination would likely go into overdrive, seeing and hearing things that aren't there, or maybe something is out there...like a wild animal.

Have you ever been lost like this - if so, did you manage to stay calm?

I'm one of those people that isn't unnerved when lost, in fact I think of it as a bit of a challenge to regain my bearings and work out where I am.    One past occurance had me getting lost after planning directions from leaving a London Tube station.  The problem was the station I left from had more than one exit, I took the wrong one so my instructions were completely out, however I had looked at London from a Googlemap overhead and remembered spotting a particular building design that I was able to look for after walking around.  The only unnerved reasoning I had at the time was if I was going to be late to where I was suppose to be, I managed to get there early.
Keeping calm is probably what helped you the most. You might have been late if you stressed over it. I like how you turned it into a challenge!

(Sep 12, 2021 05:57 PM)Magical Realist Wrote: Great article Leigha!

I have a phobia of getting lost in some unfamiliar city while driving in my car. I always wonder that I have managed to find places in the past with no cellphone and only a map. How did I do it? It seems so complicated now and doomed to failure. I can't even imagine getting lost in a forest. But your article makes it clear we are only a few steps away from losing our way out there at any time.
Yea, I’ve been lost driving before, but not lost in the woods. However, I did get lost a few years ago running on a (new to me) nature trail and had left my phone in the car. I was more annoyed than panicked, but maybe we should carry an old fashioned compass, since you just never know. ; )
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#5
confused2 Offline
I've been lost a few times.
1/Many years ago I went to stay with a friend in Greece. One night I popped out from the bar we were drinking in to buy some tobacco. When I left there was a a big well sign above the bar - when I got back to where it ought to have been there was no well lit sign, nothing. No street lights, nothing. Near total darkness. I didn't speak a word of greek and anyway I didn't know the address I was staying at. I eventually found a door behind which I could hear music and after banging on it they let me back in. Panic level 7/10.
2/Drink heavily implicated in this one. Walking back from a bar in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere in France to somewhere similar I somehow wandered onto a deserted airfield. Drunks (me) tend to walk in the middle of the road but (me) occasionally check where the edges are. On an airfield there's a lot of road and the edges just kind'a go off into a lot of grass. Checking out the other side of the road (some distance away) showed that the other edge also went off into a lot of grass. More puzzled than panicked.
3/I may have bored already. I'll relate if anyone asks me to.
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#6
Leigha Offline
(Sep 13, 2021 12:17 AM)confused2 Wrote: I've been lost a few times.
1/Many years ago I went to stay with a friend in Greece. One night I popped out from the bar we were drinking in to buy some tobacco. When I left there was a a big well sign above the bar - when I got back to where it ought to have been there was no well lit sign, nothing. No street lights, nothing. Near total darkness. I didn't speak a word of greek and anyway I didn't know the address I was staying at. I eventually found a door behind which I could hear music and after banging on it they let me back in. Panic level 7/10.
2/Drink heavily implicated in this one. Walking back from a bar in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere in France to somewhere similar I somehow wandered onto a deserted airfield. Drunks (me) tend to walk in the middle of the road but (me) occasionally check where the edges are. On an airfield there's a lot of road and the edges just kind'a go off into a lot of grass. Checking out the other side of the road (some distance away) showed that the other edge also went off into a lot of grass. More puzzled than panicked.
3/I may have bored already. I'll relate if anyone asks me to.

Isn't it funny though how we ''panic,'' sometimes? Like what is the worst thing that could have happened to you? You'll never find your way back ever again? lol We honestly believe in these moments that we'll just aimlessly wander around ...forever. . . Dodgy

Why do we panic.

''Oh no, a threat! Quick...let's speed up our heart rate, and gasp for air because that will surely help us find our way!''

From an evolutionary perspective, it's probably a helpful(?) response though, if say a pack of wolves were chasing us. ; )
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