Comment on Getting stuck in the bush: Or how I learned not to be an idiot or trust google maps.
CameronDev@programming.dev 6 months agoNothing you said there is exclusive to paper maps. You can still stop and check the GPS when something is wrong. On a recent holiday I did exactly that when a scenic detour got a lot rougher than expected (It was even better, as i could use the satelite view to see that the road didnt just drive through a lake, which a paper map could not show).
There have been plenty of people who have followed paper maps to their deaths as well. You could argue that GPS has lowered the bar, but its not the map, its the navigator.
Ilandar@aussie.zone 6 months ago
I think you sort of missed the point I was making in the second paragraph there. A physical map does not offer real-time navigation or encourage to you continue on your current course in the way that map applications do. Most people who use physical maps do not read the map as they are driving, they read it before they start driving and then refer to it intermittently. As a result, people are more likely to refer to the map if something seems unusual because they might think they’ve misremembered the route and taken a wrong turn. In the same scenario, a navigation app reliant user has fewer barriers to continue on that route because the map is constantly reassuring them that they’re going in the right direction. You say it’s the navigator’s fault, but that’s just the way navigation apps are designed to be used. The entire point of them is that you don’t have to pull over and consult the map because it’s supposed to be constantly updating and correcting itself in real-time. That’s why people are so trusting in them.
CameronDev@programming.dev 6 months ago
I got that, and I do see your point, just disagree with it is all. A physical map can provide very similar levels of encouragement and confidence as a digital one.
As a kid when my parents were teaching me to navigate with melways I made the exact same kinds of mistakes - “The map says its here, it must be here”
Maybe phone apps provide more encouragement, but im unconvinced that “just use a paper map” is actually the answer. Learn your tool is the right answer in my opinion. (And perhaps borrow from Aviation:
AviateDrive, Navigate, Communicate)