I immediately go to these two thoughts:
- Is significant life-long usage of real-time mental spatial navigation protective?
- Are those who end up in these positions self-selected for better than average real-time mental spatial navigation and that above average performance correlates with protection against Alzheimer's.
I think your 2nd point is less likely.
Anecdotal, but I've spoken with many taxi and ride-share drivers, and my impression is that their decision to seek out and continue that line of work is almost always driven by outside economic considerations. I've never heard someone base their decision on their ability to perform the job.
> I've never heard someone base their decision on their ability to perform the job.
That they’re consciously aware of
Exactly - I'm thinking the bad spatial navigators have a higher probability of washing out of driving and pursue some other career. They may not say "I'm bad at figuring out where I am", but the economics of the job are just a little bit worse for these people.
There's a big difference with being a driver now, though, compared to having had it as a career and being part of this study. They did it before gps.
100%.