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If you train yourself to use a static orientation however, you develop a much better "big picture" awareness of the city you drive in, eventually freeing your

If you train yourself to use a static orientation however, you develop a much better "big picture" awareness of the city you drive in, eventually freeing yourself from requiring navigational assistance. The additional cognitive load is worth it for me.

ChristianBundy 10y ago
Could it be possible that this may be easier for you than it is for the person you're replying to? Here's my understanding of the conversation that just happened: A: I have trouble doing Z. B: Many people have trouble doing Z! Interestingly enough, many X and Y also have trouble doing Z. C: I'm able to do Z, and I can tell you that the benefits are worth the cost.
- learn_more 10y ago
  I'm simply pointing out there is an often overlooked benefit to using navigation with a static map orientation. For folks who are "bad at directions" this may help them fix that deficit.
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Arizhel 10y ago
I can't imagine why you wouldn't want navigational assistance. The only time I drive without my GPS is if I'm going somewhere I go frequently, along a route I normally travel, and it's a short distance. Any place new, and I'm using GPS, and even if I'm going someplace familiar, and I'm familiar with the route, if it's a good distance away I use the GPS anyway to make sure I don't miss a turn and also, very importantly, to reroute me according to traffic conditions. I don't care how good you think your knowledge of the roads in a city are: there is no possible way that you can know that there's a traffic jam or accident along your normal route (unless you're like Paul Atreides). A traffic-aware GPS system will alert you to these things and reroute you if possible. The thing that's valuable about having that "big picture" awareness of your city is in being able to second-guess the GPS when it gives you bad information, which is rare but it does happen because they're not perfect, or to know that the route it's chosen will only save you 10 seconds but will take you through a residential area with speedbumps instead of a larger road meant for through traffic.
- sedachv 10y ago
  > I can't imagine why you wouldn't want navigational assistance. Here is why I look up directions in advance in almost all situations: * GPS is a distraction to maintaining awareness while driving, motorcycling, and bicycling. * Navigational assistance does not help you when walking, taking public transit or taxis. Using GPS while driving prevents you from learning the layout of the place you are in which transfers to navigational competence for these other modes of transportation. * You miss fun roads when following GPS navigation. * GPS navigation is useless when planning long bicycle and motorcycle tours. I pick waypoints and routes between them in advance. * GPS will route you into sketchy situations (like to phantom bridges) that you could have predicted by looking at a map. * GPS does not take weather conditions into account when routing. People have gotten into floods (easy to see when looking at rivers and topo on a map in advance), stuck in snow, and have even died in the desert: http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/article2573180.html http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/article257... I do not know very many competent drivers who rely on GPS navigation. I see plenty of "GPS zombies" obliviously plowing through intersections and ignoring crosswalks every day. The most use I get out of having a GPS dash unit is on trails and off-roading in my truck or motorcycle, where there is usually no signage for forest roads and trails.
  - learn_more 10y ago
    Well said. To clarify my point, GPS maps can actually be a learning tool instead of a crutch. But it seems to require static map orientation. When the map is always oriented north, it teaches you about the city as you see your location move within it. When it's constantly shifting the map orientation around, it seems it's too confusing to extract "big picture" knowledge. I don't think most people realize this, since mapping systems often default to the "driver-centric" viewpoint, and if they don't, it's the first thing people change.
    - sedachv 10y ago
      Good point. I always have to set whatever GPS I am trying to use to fixed scale (no auto-zoom) map view with "north is up" before things feel right.

ChristianBundy 10y ago

Could it be possible that this may be easier for you than it is for the person you're replying to? Here's my understanding of the conversation that just happened: A: I have trouble doing Z. B: Many people have trouble doing Z! Interestingly enough, many X and Y also have trouble doing Z. C: I'm able to do Z, and I can tell you that the benefits are worth the cost.

learn_more 10y ago
I'm simply pointing out there is an often overlooked benefit to using navigation with a static map orientation. For folks who are "bad at directions" this may help them fix that deficit.

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Arizhel 10y ago

I can't imagine why you wouldn't want navigational assistance. The only time I drive without my GPS is if I'm going somewhere I go frequently, along a route I normally travel, and it's a short distance. Any place new, and I'm using GPS, and even if I'm going someplace familiar, and I'm familiar with the route, if it's a good distance away I use the GPS anyway to make sure I don't miss a turn and also, very importantly, to reroute me according to traffic conditions. I don't care how good you think your knowledge of the roads in a city are: there is no possible way that you can know that there's a traffic jam or accident along your normal route (unless you're like Paul Atreides). A traffic-aware GPS system will alert you to these things and reroute you if possible. The thing that's valuable about having that "big picture" awareness of your city is in being able to second-guess the GPS when it gives you bad information, which is rare but it does happen because they're not perfect, or to know that the route it's chosen will only save you 10 seconds but will take you through a residential area with speedbumps instead of a larger road meant for through traffic.

sedachv 10y ago
> I can't imagine why you wouldn't want navigational assistance. Here is why I look up directions in advance in almost all situations: * GPS is a distraction to maintaining awareness while driving, motorcycling, and bicycling. * Navigational assistance does not help you when walking, taking public transit or taxis. Using GPS while driving prevents you from learning the layout of the place you are in which transfers to navigational competence for these other modes of transportation. * You miss fun roads when following GPS navigation. * GPS navigation is useless when planning long bicycle and motorcycle tours. I pick waypoints and routes between them in advance. * GPS will route you into sketchy situations (like to phantom bridges) that you could have predicted by looking at a map. * GPS does not take weather conditions into account when routing. People have gotten into floods (easy to see when looking at rivers and topo on a map in advance), stuck in snow, and have even died in the desert: http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/article2573180.html http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/article257... I do not know very many competent drivers who rely on GPS navigation. I see plenty of "GPS zombies" obliviously plowing through intersections and ignoring crosswalks every day. The most use I get out of having a GPS dash unit is on trails and off-roading in my truck or motorcycle, where there is usually no signage for forest roads and trails.
- learn_more 10y ago
  Well said. To clarify my point, GPS maps can actually be a learning tool instead of a crutch. But it seems to require static map orientation. When the map is always oriented north, it teaches you about the city as you see your location move within it. When it's constantly shifting the map orientation around, it seems it's too confusing to extract "big picture" knowledge. I don't think most people realize this, since mapping systems often default to the "driver-centric" viewpoint, and if they don't, it's the first thing people change.
  - sedachv 10y ago
    Good point. I always have to set whatever GPS I am trying to use to fixed scale (no auto-zoom) map view with "north is up" before things feel right.