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It's for the explicit reason I refuse to use it, basically. So I at least know the routes I take frequently and have a chance to learn new ones from time to tim

It's for the explicit reason I refuse to use it, basically. So I at least know the routes I take frequently and have a chance to learn new ones from time to time. I remember years ago when I still used a GPS there were routes I would drive frequently that I couldn't drive without the GPS. But what I really meant by the comment is despite living 30 years in the same city I barely know where anything is. Especially in comparison to everyone else I know they can all describe where things are via nearby business, other landmarks and adjacent suburbs and I am lost at to which part of the city the first suburb they mentioned is even in. I also have very little mental models of how one suburb connects to another. It's like each suburb lives in it's own isolate container and when I imagine it all I see in my mind is the main commercial area of that suburb. One of these days I'm thinking of just using Anki to memorize my entire city and be done with it.

foxes 7y ago
Interesting. How do you visualise/perceive in your mind the routes you remember? Do you struggle with visualising other things? Routes I remember certainly have many mental visual clues like prominent landmarks/layouts. Going back to a city I haven't been in for a few years, when things have changed, I find harder to navigate even when I roughly know the layout. I need to relearn some visual cues.
frosted-flakes 7y ago
I always use a GPS, but I rarely set a route on it. I have a Garmin unit mounted to my windshield that automatically comes on with the ignition[1], and it acts as an omnipresent 3D map. This actually aids my understanding of a city, because now I know the name of every cross street[2], can recognise roads by their shape, and can see where I've been before[3]. I prefer a standalone Garmin unit over Google Maps because it's automatically present, it's actually readable, I can control the zoom level at will, and it doesn't use data / I don't have to keep offline maps up-to-date. [1] I added a switched 12V outlet so I could get this behaviour. Many new cars are like this by default, but not mine. [2] My GPS shows the next street as "Pine St ahead" in place of the next turn when a route is not set. Actually super handy. Also, all roads on the map have large, clear labels, so I can also see parallel roads, etc., unlike Google Maps. [3] My GPS paints a blue trail behind me on the map, so once I've driven through an area, I can just glance at the paint line to orient myself.
netsharc 7y ago
Apparently the trick is to set the GPS to always be North-Up. That way you can see which compass direction you're heading.

foxes 7y ago

Interesting. How do you visualise/perceive in your mind the routes you remember? Do you struggle with visualising other things? Routes I remember certainly have many mental visual clues like prominent landmarks/layouts. Going back to a city I haven't been in for a few years, when things have changed, I find harder to navigate even when I roughly know the layout. I need to relearn some visual cues.

frosted-flakes 7y ago

I always use a GPS, but I rarely set a route on it. I have a Garmin unit mounted to my windshield that automatically comes on with the ignition[1], and it acts as an omnipresent 3D map. This actually aids my understanding of a city, because now I know the name of every cross street[2], can recognise roads by their shape, and can see where I've been before[3]. I prefer a standalone Garmin unit over Google Maps because it's automatically present, it's actually readable, I can control the zoom level at will, and it doesn't use data / I don't have to keep offline maps up-to-date. [1] I added a switched 12V outlet so I could get this behaviour. Many new cars are like this by default, but not mine. [2] My GPS shows the next street as "Pine St ahead" in place of the next turn when a route is not set. Actually super handy. Also, all roads on the map have large, clear labels, so I can also see parallel roads, etc., unlike Google Maps. [3] My GPS paints a blue trail behind me on the map, so once I've driven through an area, I can just glance at the paint line to orient myself.

netsharc 7y ago

Apparently the trick is to set the GPS to always be North-Up. That way you can see which compass direction you're heading.