The classic trope is that men would rather stay lost than read a map or follow GPS, but a newly published study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign says they are better at navigating than women.
But according to the study, the results of which were just published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, such navigational skill isn’t some hardwired evolutionary trait from the hunter-gatherer days.
Instead, the researchers say, as kids, boys may have different experiences and opportunities that build navigational skills, such as being encouraged to play outside more than girls, making them better at mapping their surroundings.
“Sex differences in behaviour or performance can arise from biological or cultural processes that have little to do with evolution,” the study’s researchers wrote.
Long story short, men are generally better at navigating, but it’s not because they’re men. Instead, the study’s findings appear to show that women and men have the same potential for navigational skills, but in general, males have had more chances to work them out.
In your relationship, your mileage literally and figuratively may vary.