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Discovery: Why do some people have no sense of direction?

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Indonesian Army personnel read a map, December 2014.

20/02/2017 GMT

Why do some people have no sense of direction?

BBC World Service - Discovery, Why do some people have no sense of direction?Search BBC

Why is my mum tone deaf? And why do some people have no sense of direction? Drs Rutherford & Fry investigate.

Two challenges for the team today involving singing and navigating. 

The Melodic Mystery
"Why is my mother tone deaf?" asks listener Simon, "and can I do anything to ensure my son can at least carry a tune?" Hannah admits to struggling to hold a tune and has a singing lesson with teacher Michael Bonshor, although it doesn’t go quite to plan.
 
We meet Martin who hates music because he has the clinical form of tone deafness, known as amusia. Just as people with dyslexia see words differently to other people, if you have amusia you don't hear melodies in the same way. Adam talks to music psychologist Dr Vicky Williamson from Sheffield University who studies Martin, and others like him, to try and discover why their brains operate differently.

The Lost Producer
In our second case, we investigate why some people have a terrible sense of direction. It’s the turn of Producer Michelle to be put to the test to try improve her poor navigational skills.
 
Prof Hugo Spiers from University College London examines Michelle’s sense of direction using his free game 'Sea Hero Quest'. Catherine Loveday from the University of Westminster suggests strategies to stop Michelle from getting lost. And tune in to find out which country houses the world’s best navigators. 

Photo: Indonesian Army personnel read a map. Credit: Juni Kriswanto/AFP /Getty Images)

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