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Knowing left from right?
Jun. 4th, 2010 02:59 pmSo I'm nearly done paying off the debt from surgery, which means I get my wings back. But it also got me to thinking about something. Some that's been bugging me for ... well ... probably damn near my whole life.
Do any of you guys have trouble telling left from right, or is it just instinct?
When someone tells me "take a right" or "turn left," for a moment, I never know which way they mean. It just doesn't click in my head; I have to stop and think about it. Okay, I'm right handed. Which hand do I write with. That one? That's right! My whole life has been that way, every time someone gives me a direction based on left or right. I have to consciously think about it. But it's only left and right. I have no problems with forward and backward, or up and down. I have no problems navigating on a map or telling cardinal directions. It's just directions relative to left and right that give me problems.
Now, most of the time, this causes me no problems. Over the years, I've gotten used to thinking ahead of myself - I know a turn is coming up, I know it's a right, so I know to turn that way when I get up there. It's even easier (lazier) when using a GPS. It has a little arrow icon on the screen indicating which way I should turn.
But flying is different. I don't have that moment to consider which is my left and which is my right when I'm sitting in a cockpit. Not when the plane is pulling to the left on takeoff and I have to correct to the right. Moreover, because I'm working in 3D space now instead of just 2D, my problems are doubled. I have to tell my left from right on the yoke and my left from right on the rudder pedals.
Even in airplanes, I've found little ways of starting to cope. For instance on takeoff, I no longer go all the way to full throttle immediately, but push it in slowly over about 4 seconds. This gives me the little moment I need to feel what the plane wants to do - I know it's gonna pull left, but I don't know which way left is! - and correct the opposite direction. But that's not right and might get me killed. Over time I've learned it's gonna pull that way, but the minute someone applies a label to it, I'm totally fucking confused again.
With the amount of shit I already have on my mind when in the air combined with how much faster things can happen at those critical times, I can't afford to use this same method I've used in cars.
So do any of you guys have a hard time telling left from right? What ways have you found to cope?
Do any of you guys have trouble telling left from right, or is it just instinct?
When someone tells me "take a right" or "turn left," for a moment, I never know which way they mean. It just doesn't click in my head; I have to stop and think about it. Okay, I'm right handed. Which hand do I write with. That one? That's right! My whole life has been that way, every time someone gives me a direction based on left or right. I have to consciously think about it. But it's only left and right. I have no problems with forward and backward, or up and down. I have no problems navigating on a map or telling cardinal directions. It's just directions relative to left and right that give me problems.
Now, most of the time, this causes me no problems. Over the years, I've gotten used to thinking ahead of myself - I know a turn is coming up, I know it's a right, so I know to turn that way when I get up there. It's even easier (lazier) when using a GPS. It has a little arrow icon on the screen indicating which way I should turn.
But flying is different. I don't have that moment to consider which is my left and which is my right when I'm sitting in a cockpit. Not when the plane is pulling to the left on takeoff and I have to correct to the right. Moreover, because I'm working in 3D space now instead of just 2D, my problems are doubled. I have to tell my left from right on the yoke and my left from right on the rudder pedals.
Even in airplanes, I've found little ways of starting to cope. For instance on takeoff, I no longer go all the way to full throttle immediately, but push it in slowly over about 4 seconds. This gives me the little moment I need to feel what the plane wants to do - I know it's gonna pull left, but I don't know which way left is! - and correct the opposite direction. But that's not right and might get me killed. Over time I've learned it's gonna pull that way, but the minute someone applies a label to it, I'm totally fucking confused again.
With the amount of shit I already have on my mind when in the air combined with how much faster things can happen at those critical times, I can't afford to use this same method I've used in cars.
So do any of you guys have a hard time telling left from right? What ways have you found to cope?