Asking for directions. The problem for me is that is that, when I ask for directions they always seem to come back in the way that confuses me -"Turn left and then third right and then go on till you come to a telephone box..." and so forth. I don't work that way, I need a mental map of where places are, not a narrative of how to get there.

Finding a place without directions means I build up this kind of mental map, so I know where I am and how to get back home and so on.

I suspect that this kind of thing is to do with how our brains are wired, and that it lies behind the way men often prefer not to ask the way, rather than with not wanting to interact with people, or male pride and all that, which is what is often assumed. (And I suspect that there are plenty of men whose brains are wired the other way, and plenty of women who work like me in this respect.)