Will it fit?

[Solitaire U.]

The other day, my wife and I went to buy tables, chairs, and other assorted junk for one of her daycare playrooms. She immediately picked out two 8' folding tables and twelve folding chairs, which touched off an all too familiar argument.

I asked her, "How are you planning to arrange these tables in there?"

"I'm going to put them end to end in the middle of the room." she replied.

I: "But you've got 16 feet worth of table here. How is that going to fit into the middle of an 9'x15' room?"

She: "How do you know the room is 9'x15'? Did you measure it?"

I: "Uh, no I didn't."

She: "Well, then how do you KNOW it's 9x15??"

I: "Uh, well, I don't know. I mean, I don't know HOW I know. I just know, and these two tables definitely aren't going to fit. Trust me!"

*(Measured the room; it's 15'4" x 9"2' at its narrowest and 9"6' at its widest point. This room, like all rooms in this 90 degree angle defiant country, is actually a trapezoid.)

She, insistent: "Help me set these tables up. I want to look at them."

So I help her set the tables up, end to end in the aisle.

She, more insistent: "There! See!? They're not that long. They'll fit!"

I, somewhat amused: "I'm telling you, they're not gonna fit."

She, frustrated: "But they don't look that long to me."

I, determined: "Of course they don't, because you're looking at them in the middle of a 100,000 square foot Sam's Club warehouse! Close your eyes and picture the playroom, then imagine these two tables placed end to end inside. What do you see?"

She, eyes closed: "I don't know. Now I'm confused. Maybe you're right. What do you suggest?"

I, humbly victorious: "Let's get three of these 6' tables. They're only 26" wide. You can push the ends up against one wall and make little aisles with them, four kids to a table. That'll leave you a nice 3' (actually a bit more, trapazoidically speaking) aisle down the other side of the room."

So we buy the stuff, haul it home in the van, and set it up. Just like I envisioned.

When someone needs a box, car/truck, or closet packed with stuff, I get the duty.. When a room needs to be arranged for a specific purpose, it's usually me that ends up doing it. I rarely use tape measures or anything of the sort. I just look at the empty space, the stuff that needs to go in it, and it all somehow falls into place in my mind. I can just see how it will go together, the fills, the voids, etc.

If it won't fit, it's always immediately evident. I can't recall ever being undecided about something fitting or not. It either will or won't.

By extension, I think, I really enjoy creating worksheet pages. Title goes here, chart below, 12 operations below that, room for an image on this left side, blah blah. Other teachers ask me, "How the hell did you get all that onto 1 page?" "Heh, I don't know, it just fell together."

So how's your...what...spatial awareness? Are you an efficient void filler?

 

[Duxwing]

I can do the same, but with logic and language: your ability is quite Se-oriented--but nonetheless cool! And that story... You two should make a sitcom.

-Duxwing

 

[kvothe27]

I have very poor spatial awareness. I run into things, put things together incorrectly, space things incorrectly, etc. I have difficulty filling out a simple check, for crying out loud.

 

[Cognisant]

It's likely a male thing, then again maybe we get more visual/spatial practice.

I work in a retail store that was originally a bank vault and has since been taken over by a company that has uniform standards that really only make sense in their large warehouse like stores, so I'm constantly having to move large/heavy things through gaps with <1cm clearance (edit: relative to the size of the thing in question).

We have our own terminology:
Possible = there's room.
Impossible = it's not going to happen.
It'll be right = cue the sound of grinding

 

[Cherry Cola]

that's a nice skill

which i totally lack

 

[Solitaire U.]

It'll be right = cue the sound of grinding

Heh, you don't even want to know how common that terminology is in the towing industry.

 

[Cavallier]

Yeah but can you do this:

Spoiler

I'm the one that packs the boxes, the car, the closet, the <you name it>. I just see it in my head and I'm usually right. I'm the female in the relationship. However, I have moved and reorganized rooms more times than I can count. It may be a learned skill on my part as apposed to innate.

 

[redbaron]

Sounds like me helping people move...and them insisting on doing things that won't work until they don't and then they do what I said in the first place anyway.

That said I don't really have to debate it that much because people know that I know what I'm talking about, so they're content to go along with it. It's only sometimes when they're trying to do something that I absolutely know is either not possible, or there's a much easier way, yet they still insist on doing it the hard way. If they're being really insistent, I just wait for them to fail and realize for themselves it's not going to work.

I do kind of enjoy the whole ordeal of moving house/renovating/landscaping for the problem solving aspect, there's sort of a unifying thing about completing manual labour as a team - I find working with other people towards the same goal satisfying.

 

[Clark]

In fact you are going well, the skills you have inspired me allot. I never have such skill . Thanks for using the internet to show these kinds of tactics that happen behind close doors.

 

[Jennywocky]

Yeah but can you do this:

Why, yes. Yes I can!

I actually would pack the minivan for family vacation when our kids were young, and I was very good at getting everything that was packed into the van... without having to leave any of the kids at home. And every inch, pretty much, was filled (since we had a kid with medical needs, and had to take along a bunch of machines and coolers and medicine bags).

Similar to what you said, I just see it in my head and it fits together properly. I usually get perfect scores (or close to it) on those tests with the rotating 3D block shapes, where you have to match the right ones up or spin them around in your head. I usually can navigate by direction sense as well... and can parallel park my car.

For me, it seems more innate -- I could always do it... although when I practiced it, I could make things even tighter.

 

[Vict]

That's some patience.

I wouldn't even give figures. Eyeball the tables, know from experience of being in the room that they won't fit, and explain the alternative.

 

[Ex-User (5841)]

I'm not sure whether or not it's completely a learned skill, but yes, I share the ability (though numbers as descriptors are rarely involved).

A lot of it comes from working in retail and stuffing things onto shelves, as well as packing and unloading storage lockers and my truck.

Oh, tangential, but awesome in its own right: http://gorillaz.com/g-player/games/attache

 

[Solitaire U.]

Nice game, kind of reminds me of Tetris, but damnit you can't rotate the objects.

 

[Montresor]

Maybe you can generalize the phenomenon into a broader scope?

Your eye is quick with sizes and measurements, but what about mass?

Can you tell if something is too massive?

Can you predict the effects of trickling water?

Can you effectively manipulate airflow in your house/car/office/adaptive environment?

Are you afraid of heights?

 

[Solitaire U.]

Can you tell if something is too massive?

I'm too massive, so apparently, yes.

Can you predict the effects of trickling water?

Erosion, slippery moss, and eventually a river.

Can you effectively manipulate airflow in your house/car/office/adaptive environment?

There's that 'sweet spot', where you roll down the car window just enough to maintain airflow but not enough to muss your hair.

Are you afraid of heights?

Heh, only when I'm on meth.