[fdej]

The brain has dedicated subsystems for different aspects of spatial and visual understanding.

Certain groups of cells (place cells, grid cells) are known to be involved specifically in the ability to track one's own location and movement within the external world. This ability is likely a very old and important evolutionary invention in the development of higher animals, thus very sophisticated and well integrated with other functions, particularly memory. Think of the method of loci, known already in Ancient Rome and Greece, or indeed how quickly one learns to navigate a new city (or a video game level, say). This probably explains the phenomenon the author describes.

That said, the relative importance of the various spatial-visual subsystems of the brain probably depends heavily on the task, and perhaps also varies between individuals.