What is a Visual-Spatial Learner?

Do you have piles of paper on your desk or do you work on one thing at a time with everything else neatly put away? If you prefer to keep things out in view, you are probably a Visual-Spatial Learner.

There is a tendency to think that someone with a messy desk is disorganized. However, this may not always be the case. In fact, one of the most organized people I know has the messiest desk that I've ever seen. If I had a bias toward the appearance of disorder, I would have truly missed out on knowing an exceptional talent. Having a messy desk is not the only sign that he's a Visual-Spatial learner, although it is a very dramatic one. (Some people with a relatively clean desk can be Visual-Spatial as well).

Although it is believed that over 60% of the population is Visual-Spatial, the way the world operates appears to have a strong Auditory-Sequential bent. This is very interesting to me and it makes sense to some degree. It is easier to understand and present logic than it is to present intuition. Since most of us have a need for understanding, we tend to gravitate toward things that can be explained. So, before the explosion of knowledge over the past few decades, there was a strong bias toward highly structured systems, which favored auditory-sequential thinkers.

You may notice that this bias is changing as the world is shifting toward more customization. Having more options with the ability to customize is a Visual-Spatial trait, which is one of the reasons that I believe the world is moving to be more inclusive of visual-spatial learners.