How can we know where we are? This question has for centuries pestered philosophs. In the area of GPS this now is no longer even a practical question, anyone with a smartphone can easily determine her/his position in space with unprecedented certitude.
However, what is technically possible, does not bear on the perception of space in the human mind. Agreed, that this would pose problem came not even to my mind. Therefore, the announcement of the Nobelprice to the three researchers John O’ Keefe (USA) and the couple May-Britt and Edvard Moser (Norway) comes as a surprise. But it shows that there was a question and already the solution these three researchers provided. I cite from the press release of Nobel Assembly at the Carolinka Institute (Nobelprizse.org):
The discoveries of John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser have solved a problem that has occupied philosophers and scientists for centuries – how does the brain create a map of the space surrounding us and how can we navigate our way through a complex environment?