Earlier quoted context omitted.
Counterpoint: the automatic ice-maker
I'm very confused and interested. What do you mean by that?
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Letting go of the GPS to learn the art of natural navigation
31–40 of 91 posts
Re: Letting go of the GPS to learn the art of natural navigation
#32Amusing how we let go of some technological item to suddenly re-discover the world.
When I gave up smartphones for a period of time I found myself wondering what I could do to spend the time on my ~1hr commute home. I remember being excited when an old acquaintance caught the same train as me, knowing I could pass the time talking. I ended up getting to know a lot of the Train Transport officers because we'd talk about the weather or some local incident.
Not having Google Maps though - that was not a fun experience at all. Yes, I asked people but usually they didn't know and would whip out their smartphones to consult Google Maps on my behalf. The worst thing is when you're in a rush or when the weather is bad. You can't afford to spend extra time looking for that place you need to be, especially if you're looking for a public toilet in your city.
Re: Letting go of the GPS to learn the art of natural navigation
#33The only thing a Marine fears more than a Sailor with a rifle is a Lt with a map and compass.
Re: Letting go of the GPS to learn the art of natural navigation
#34GPS is a great way to get from point A to point B without learning the first thing about the location that the route guidance software is navigating for you. If you're only passing through, fine. But you just don't build the same mental model of an area when you don't have to think about it. When the phone dies or there's no reception, you're utterly helpless. When I'm navigating my local areas, I only use a map appl…
I prefer to discover my city by taking long walks. The car is for getting from point A to B as efficiently as possible.
Re: Letting go of the GPS to learn the art of natural navigation
#35I'd love some kind of GPS mode that just gave the most important or trickiest directions, then was completely silent for the rest of the trip. I know how to get out of my neighborhood and onto the northbound freeway. I'll never need directions to do this. I know I'll be driving for 30 minutes. I just need the exit to take when it's coming up, and a few tricky turns near the destination. Just give me that and I'll fig…
A related thing I'd like is a navigation system which understands that some turns are not important. If I'm driving on a Manhattan-style grid, I'd like it to say "You could turn here if you want, but straight is good too." I'd probably go straight if it's green and I'm doing 45, but if I'm at the head of the queue and it's red, I'd rather turn right.
Or maybe a navigation system that has a bit of personality. I feel like they've remained robotic while companies try to inject a personality into their personal assistant counterparts.
Re: Letting go of the GPS to learn the art of natural navigation
#36Interesting, I occasionally use GPS in areas I have not been to. My general philosophy is navigation by approximation, slowly closing in on a destination by finding big landmarks first. Its not the most efficient but it makes for great tours and trips when not in a rush.
This is exactly me and my friends are doing these days. When we have enough time and we want to go someplace on the other side of the city. Instead of using maps to navigate we follow a general direction to reach a landmark first then look at the map once to see our route from there.
Re: Letting go of the GPS to learn the art of natural navigation
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
But maps give you additional advantage such as , live traffic due to which I save time by taking a different route (may be caused due to an accident or other reason)
Cell phone maps are utterly useless in too many situations. A lack of reception being one. Or equally as bad -- too much reception, as in competing GPS and cell triangulation signals bouncing off buildings in a dense urban environment. People always make the excuse that you can just download the maps into the phone. But that wouldn't have helped me in the places I've been over the last two weeks when my phone repeate…
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Re: Letting go of the GPS to learn the art of natural navigation
#38"Look for satellite dishes. They all point towards the equator. In London, that is roughly south-southeast."
If by "roughly south-southeast" you mean "south" and by "in London" you mean "in the northern hemisphere" :).
Re: Letting go of the GPS to learn the art of natural navigation
#39Once I was travelling through Morocco and the general advice I got from other turists even before the trip was “don’t trust the gps”. It turned out the medinas (old towns) themselves were so densly packed, that you could not see much of the sky to get any lock on satellites, and the internet coverage was very spotty.
And you “had” to learn how to read paper maps, because otherwise you’d fall pray to the many “tourist guides” that will scam you for 5-10 bucks each time, or worse. In that unique environment, where there's a need and a threat model, you get the hang of it pretty quickly, and boy oh boy was it worth it, after the inital bit were you “learn the map” I could navigate the busy winding streets of marakesh with confidence, spending way more time looking at the splendor of the souk(bazaar), choosing “alternative” routes to explore new areas, while having this worm “at home” feeling.
And that “skill” persisted for quite aome time after the trip. We had an orientation challenge team building event, and my tream beat everyone handily mainly because of the medina training I got :)
Re: Letting go of the GPS to learn the art of natural navigation
#40Once I was travelling through Morocco and the general advice I got from other turists even before the trip was “don’t trust the gps”. It turned out the medinas (old towns) themselves were so densly packed, that you could not see much of the sky to get any lock on satellites, and the internet coverage was very spotty. And you “had” to learn how to read paper maps, because otherwise you’d fall pray to the many “tourist…
I got the same advice in Edinburgh. Apparently the old crazy roads and verticality really don’t translate well into a 2D-ish plane and route finding algorithm!