Is knowing which way is left or right as automatic as up and down?

[Dramatic]

Saw a video online about this, apparently for some people knowing their left and right is as automatic as knowing up and down. Is this you?

I struggle so much, I can be confidently saying left and pointing right or vice versa and when someone gives a direction it takes me a good few seconds to know which way they mean. Whereas if someone said up or down it would be instant.

YABU left and right are as easy as up & down
YANBU left and right takes a few more seconds to think about/I quite often get it wrong

Oh that's interesting. I can't do left and right without drawing a letter in the air with both hands, and I never crawled at all.

I can do NSEW where I live because I can orient myself by where the station is, but not somewhere I don't know.

I objectively know which is which, obviously, but if I’m having to say it out loud (giving directions or whatever) I will - every single time, without fail - say the complete opposite to what’s in my head. To the extent that my family automatically assume I mean right if I say left. It’s bizarre, a complete brain disconnect.

This is exactly it. My DD had her first driving lesson today so we discussed this. She’s going to right L on her L-hand or wear a ring to help her remember!

Right is my bedroom window. That's how it started to make sense to me.

I struggle with naming colours. I can name any colour individually, but when they're in combination I have to stop and think about each one.

I massively struggle with left and right. It's why I don't think I can ever learn to drive.

Also filling out accident forms for the children I work with. If a child has an injury to their cheek I have to flip them around in my head to figure out which cheek is injured. I picture them facing away from me to work out if it's their left or right cheek.

You don't have to be able to vocalise/name "left" and "right" to be able to drive!

You just need to stay on the correct side of the road!

I find it tricky. I can follow directions because I know "right" is indicator stalk up then turn the wheel that way, and "left" is stalk down and turn that way, so I suppose I've converted in into the more intuitive up/down option. I'm hopeless at giving directions though, proper hit and miss whether I say the direction that I mean or the opposite one!

Why would it matter? You just go "this way" or "that way", you don't need to know!

I secretly put my imaginary pen in my hand to figure out which is right😝

Blimey! Such a relief! Thought I was the only one that struggles with this.

Totally get you. I'm very agile and sporty and intelligent. Can't for the life of me do left /right. I just just guess.

Itiswhysofew · Today 20:36

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Why?

I’m so reassured that I’m not alone with the left - right thing. I’ve always been like it, and I’m 60 next year. Only last week, we were meeting my SiL in a pub and I texted her to say that she would find us by the window once she’d turned right on the way in…this was followed by another text a minute later saying “sorry, I meant left, not right! Turn left on the way in!”. The odd thing is that I always think that I’ve finally cracked it, then I have trouble with it again. Years ago, someone I worked with told me that it was a very mild form of dyslexia, but in my case I don’t think it is.

I don't have to think about it at all and at one point knew left/right in three different languages and could follow directions without translating to English first.

But both my mum and my daughter cannot remember left and right.

Wait, this is wrong isn't it? Indicator stalk down for right isn't it? Isn't it?!

"Turn left at the crossroads please."

Left. Next left. Shit which way is left. Indicator to left. Is that the right way? Left is that way. It's definitely that way. Is the indicator correct? Shit there are cars behind me. Am I getting it right?

The pressure would absolutely panic me. So yes, I do know I need to just stay on the correct side of the road. But in a test, or even just being instructed, I can't guarantee I'd make the correct choice.

ps count the times I changed "right" to "correct" in this post 😅

I'm 61 and I still occasionally have to think which is left and which is right.

It depends which side of the wheel the indicator stalk is on your car.

I turned the wrong way on my driving test, they can't fail you for it, as long as you execute the manoeuvre correctly. DS struggles with it too and also turned the wrong way in his driving test too. We both passed and despite being really awful at left and right, I've driven safely for over 30 years all over the world too! Definitely isn't a reason not to drive perfectly safely.

That's not driving, that's learning to drive! Write it on your hands!

This has been quite an eye opening thread. I had no clue that so many people had challenges with this.

For me it is exactly the same as up and down - no thinking or reaction time needed at all.

I'm in my sixties and still get very confused as does my older brother. It's a nightmare in yoga classes when I can't see the instructor!

I was amazed when I had DC. From the earliesr time they knew about left and right they never ever got it wrong. So I think the OP is right.

One difference I'm aware of is that my brother and I are lefties whereas my DC are all right handed. I don't know if that affects it.

I'm very good at points of the compass.

I didn't crawl either. Straight to walking at nine months. Totally makes sense that it's linked.

@Awrite my kids and I were crawlers at 4m/walking at 8m. Reckon there is a developmental window somewhere that we missed?!