All true, but I too was raised in an age when roadmaps were widely used, and the Marine Corps taught me how to use them tactically and for using a compass to get from Point A to Point B. I could easily go back to using them... it's a skill you and I have that young people might find useful in coming days.
Too much reliance today on not thinking. For business travel, I kept a repertoire of maps for the cities I commonly visited. Upon getting a new destination, I would study the local map to get a general sense of the layout, the major freeways, and backup routes. I could navigate from the airport to my hotel, and to the meeting venue just fine. Had I been relying on a map app, no dice. In LA traffic, you can't be splitting your attention. And there is no reason to panic. In LA, there is ALWAYS a later opportunity to leave the freeway and get back on. I will admit to being stumped by Providence, Rhode Island. Good navigation right near the airport---but twisty cowpaths without signage after that. Took me a lot of effort to find my hotel at night. Had to return to the airport 3 times to recalibrate my mental compass and try again. Only drive there in daylight, and even then it is a crap shoot.
All true, but I too was raised in an age when roadmaps were widely used, and the Marine Corps taught me how to use them tactically and for using a compass to get from Point A to Point B. I could easily go back to using them... it's a skill you and I have that young people might find useful in coming days.
Too much reliance today on not thinking. For business travel, I kept a repertoire of maps for the cities I commonly visited. Upon getting a new destination, I would study the local map to get a general sense of the layout, the major freeways, and backup routes. I could navigate from the airport to my hotel, and to the meeting venue just fine. Had I been relying on a map app, no dice. In LA traffic, you can't be splitting your attention. And there is no reason to panic. In LA, there is ALWAYS a later opportunity to leave the freeway and get back on. I will admit to being stumped by Providence, Rhode Island. Good navigation right near the airport---but twisty cowpaths without signage after that. Took me a lot of effort to find my hotel at night. Had to return to the airport 3 times to recalibrate my mental compass and try again. Only drive there in daylight, and even then it is a crap shoot.
So you don't do this when in a new city, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r86kxxU-LUY
I don't even do it in an old city.