Doesn't Anyone Read a Map Anymore?

<...Cut the electricity of any large city and count the deads...>

Quite. Some people consider that if it doesn't plug in, then it's junk.

I use a road atlas, but I tell you, I use the GPS navigator on my phone (dead area, not navigator) or garmin.

When I was installing equipment, And I need something, part tool what ever. This save my countless hours just for one run.

Also, when driving through the city, when reading a map, its nice to have a person navigator along side you to read the map as your going but that isn't alway possible, GPS is.

Rarely has it been wrong......but yes it has......but more times when you have a person along side you, you would hear...."Oh, oh I think you were suppose to turn there"........or "I'm not sure" or ......"turn NOW"...."or this map isn't right."

But when I had used a map, I plan the trip, before leaving (for business, most times).....no surprises. But then again, I miss out on some surprises.

I'll take my GPS.

phoenix911

I heard an interesting report that is related to the topic on NPR this morning. Here's the link:

It's OK to Get Lost

I may have to get the book now to see what the guy says about how we navigate.

He even made a general statment that is in line with Transcendian in #19. In the broadcast, the author says that the general tendency is for men to use directions and for women to use landmarks, although there are exceptions.

the author says that the general tendency is for men to use directions and for women to use landmarks, although there are exceptions.

I don't know about that, even when I give or recieve, its by land marks.

go pass the big red rocket, or turn by the where the piggle wiggly used to be, it's a walgreens now.

Funny how the Pig is a intrical part of navagation. see #19.

I spend a lot of time in the backcountry mountain running. I don't always use trails and use GPS to track the length (distance) of my runs. If I need to navigate in an unfamiliar area I study a map and use my wits to apply it to the terrain I'm on. I avoid the city like a plague, so I can't say whether I'd prefer maps or gps.

"Tigger's don't get lost." -Tigger from Winnie-the-Pooh.

A lot of people have forgotten how to use a pencil and paper to solve normal math problems because of their dependence on calculators.

The same skills for reading a map are going to go the same way because of peoples developing dependence on GPS.

A lot of people never learned to read a map in the first place.

A lot of people have forgotten how to use a pencil and paper to solve normal math problems because of their dependence on calculators.

Now, your on education. One of many examples, I had hired a engineer from Michigan Tech. He knew how to get the answers and for the most part they were correct, but did not know the fundamentals how how the answers were arrived at....No.

Would he have gotten all of them if he knew the fundamentals. Yes, thats how I caught his repeated mistakes, even after explaining to him each time.

I believe his GPA was 2.8 something..........was there a minimum GPA requirement to get your degree from Michigan Tech. At UW-Madison there is.

phoenix911

Are you referring to topographic maps, or road and highway maps? A GPS is handy when going into an unknown area for the first time. After the first venture, neither a map or a GPS is needed. In the U.S, roads are lay-ed out according to certain rules. roads that run north and south, get odd numbers and those running east and west get even numbers. Even without a map, it's pretty easy to know where you are going. There are many little markers along the roads and tell-tail signs to guide you without a map. I've used a GPs before, but I don't own one. I plan out my trip before even leaving home with maps and computer input.

Let me just say that without GPS it is impossible to navigate in Kuala Lumpur. I have tried Maps, but with a map you need to have road markings, street names etc to confirm where you are. Non existant here. A GPS is absolutely required.

However Europe is not much better. We took a three week driving tour of Holland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and France this summer. The GPS was spot on everywhere we went, and I did not have to panic at every intersection trying to find a hidden or non exisitant street sign to figure out if this is our turn.

Get over it. GPS is far superior to any map. I will never use maps again.

In summary:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8174566.stm