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  1. #1
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    Default Article worth reading

    Comments on this? https://www.outsideonline.com/213577...ing-your-brain I read it at the eye doctors.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  2. #2

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    I think there may be something to this. I've found myself becoming more reliant on GPS even though I've been to a place before. Not only that, but I don't pay attention because I know my GPS is going to tell me when and where to turn.

  3. #3

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    GPS is robotic instruction; maps (remember them?) offer context.

  4. #4
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    Loved this article. I use a GPS sometimes, usually just to see what my ETA is. Much prefer to be knowledgeable about where I am and where I'm going.

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  6. #6
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    I just want to point out this part, which I find particularly accurate. I really do love GPS, but most of them seem to actively fight the user if one attempts to zoom out and orient themselves to useful landmarks on the digital map/

    people are capable of orienting themselves within a city based on memories of traditional maps, which help us develop a larger perspective of an area. When you navigate by GPS, focusing only on a route without a broader spatial context, you never gain that perspective.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  7. #7
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    glad i don't own or use devices

  8. #8

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    When the ‘Kessler Syndrome’ occurs, we’re all boned.

  9. #9
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    The pleasure of a paper map is akin to the pleasure of a book. You look at the map, often in downtime, and see places that all around you that you may never visit. You become mindful of the greater world, even just this corner of a state park or national forest.

    Once upon a time in Pennsylvania, where north is south and vice versa, I knelt on the ground in a light drizzle with a map and compass to figure out where I was. Although I work outdoors every day, that remains one of my best and most treasured moments in the woods.

  10. #10
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    I’m a map geek but tend to use my GPS like a map, zooming out at times to see where I am in relation to things. I almost never use things like turn-by-turn.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Game Warden View Post
    The pleasure of a paper map is akin to the pleasure of a book. . .
    Yeah, but I've pretty much quite reading paper books because my wife complains of the light at night and books take up more space and weight. I prefer reading on my phone. BUT, maps on the phone just don't come close to paper maps in hand with greater size and detail and reliability.

    FWIW: I loved that story. It was a delightful read.
    I'm not lost. I'm exploring.

  12. #12
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    Honestly, I don't see much correlation between the story in this article and the way I (and may I assume, most other hikers) am/are using the GPS app.
    My GPS app shows the true and official map of our country, including the Blue Dot indicating my current position, plus an arrow to show the direction I'm pointing the device at. It doesn't tell me "go right next junction 100 meters ahead", its up to me to decide where to go and to find the junction myself.
    When hiking, I get a glimpse at the phone maybe several times per hour, especially when I'm looking for a nice place to have a break, the next lookout point, the nex potential camp spot, etc., I feel myself very much in sync with the map.
    To make sure to stay alert, I constantly have to convert the directions (left/right) on the static map (North is always up on screen) into the directions I have to go, depending on my compass heading.

    Driving in a car closes out so much of the country, like, uphill/downhill, total distance and elevation, clear view around, etc., sure its easy to get lost when you'r following the voice giving wrong info.

    True, **** can happen, especially when you're tired. But I think it may happen less easy using a GPS app than a paper map, as long as you deal with each in the best way possible.

  13. #13

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    That guy in the article, who typed in the wrong destination, got to see a part of Iceland that not many tourists get to see.
    That's a huge plus in my book.
    I use GPS when driving to take every back road I can.
    I see people all over the world who are not used to seeing outsiders.
    They get so friendly when they find out who you are and came to see THEIR part of the world. (usually)

    I would never say GPS is a bad thing.
    Use it.
    Explore with it.
    Have fun!
    Don't let your fears stand in the way of your dreams

  14. #14
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    I shared this article with my wife. She always laughs at me because I spend lots of time looking at the map and memorizing the directions whenever I go somewhere new. But, whenever I get off course, I always realize it very quickly and find my way back.
    It's all good in the woods.

  15. #15
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    the same people who blindly follow a gps are the same ones that always got lost in pre-gps days. if you have any sense of navigation then gps is a tool just like a map is. sometimes its better than a map others it isn't

  16. #16
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    I put calculators and GPS in the same category...neither has much value unless you have some idea of the desired answer. If you dont know a rough answer then you have no way of knowing if you entered incorrect data or did the wrong operations. Even if you do know what to expect, the main value of either is precision.

    Unfortunately with GPS you are also dealing with a data base and interpretive algorithms which can mean it will take you to the exact destination but really ruin your day by the route taken. Had that happen in Jim Thorpe, PA- I knew it was going the right direction but it took me down a side street that was less than 8' wide, and I was towing a 96" wide trailer...15 minutes to go 300' and more stress than I care to remember. Fortunately the wheel track was a little less than 96" or it would have been really ugly.

  17. #17
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    Remembers me on an incident in Europe:

    An elderly woman living 76km from Brussels, Belgium wanted to visit her friend in Brussels.
    She got up early, setup the Navi in her car to what she belived was the correct address and got on the road.
    The navi led her south through Germany and Austria, and knowing thet Belgium had more than a single language, she only slightly wondered about the traffic signs in foreign languages.
    She only stopped at Zagreb, Kroatia, 1.325km from her starting point, maybe due to running out of gas and not being able to pay in her native currency- the news report left those details open.

    So true what D2maine stated above:
    The same people failing so miserabely with GPS would maybe do much worse with maps.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by fiddlehead View Post
    That guy in the article, who typed in the wrong destination, got to see a part of Iceland that not many tourists get to see.
    That's a huge plus in my book.
    I use GPS when driving to take every back road I can.
    I see people all over the world who are not used to seeing outsiders.
    They get so friendly when they find out who you are and came to see THEIR part of the world. (usually)

    I would never say GPS is a bad thing.
    Use it.
    Explore with it.
    Have fun!
    I had the same experience driving from Florence to Aviano in Italy. My buddy who was driving used a borrowed GPS unit that bypassed the highways and routed us up widing roads over the italian alps. We ended up seeing villages that looked as if they had been largely unchanged for centuries.
    Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Feral Bill View Post
    Comments on this? https://www.outsideonline.com/213577...ing-your-brain I read it at the eye doctors.
    I think a few things are going on here. The first is our general reliance/dependence upon technology. It's easy for those over 40 to forget that folks in their 20's have known nothing but smart phones, GPS, and the like. That was the first phase of directional "dumbing down". The lack of any base of knowledge about how things work. Why? Ask Siri. Or Google. Anything but learning it before you actually need it. The immediacy of information access replaced learning the essentially bases of knowledge. It did away with the ability to think critically and correctly(logically). The second phase was the lack of exposure to the outdoors as a youth, for a various number of reasons, not the least of which is technology. Kids in their 20's grew up far differently than those of us 50 and older. Technology replaced the pick up sports games and neighborhood teams and riding your bike everyday to get anywhere, etc...it kept kids inside. Even during their school breaks.

    So, you combine a complete absence of base knowledge about how things work(navigation/sun/moon/stars, maps, compass, your car's internal combustion engine, the electricity in your home, why you drill a pilot hole, etc...) with a complete lack of experience in the outdoor world and this silly character in the article is what you get. Multiply that by about 90 percent of all of those Americans under age 25 and you can see where he's coming from...just sayin....

  20. #20
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    For every GPS excursion gone bad, there are million trips that arrived without incident.

    Don’t blindly rely on GPS obviously.

    How many times would you have missed a turn using paper maps instead of GPS?

    It’s a great time time saver.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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