> That’s quick (important because you have to repeat it while you’re marching) and easy to remember (also important because you might need it in a situation wit

> That’s quick (important because you have to repeat it while you’re marching) and easy to remember (also important because you might need it in a situation without access to Wikipedia). I was taught this as a child, which was very accessible, felt incredibly magical yet made total sense, and super empowering. I grew up in an hilly area with lots of forest, where intuitively orienting yourself can be hard in itself, doubly so consistently over even a short walk. However imperfect, this technique allows one to consistently and unambiguously orient themselves via an absolute measurement subject to an error margin but impervious to error accumulation, and, when lost, not end up exhausting themselves to death by walking in circles. Knowing that (plus orienting myself with stars at night, and a couple of other safety+emergency tricks) is probably why my parents allowed me to roam around freely by myself without anything like a cell phone (at the time they were at best an oddity that you saw in Hollywood movies), even at a very young age! Most parents these day would probably pass out at mere the idea of a lone 12yo taking on a hike by themselves in such a way. For me it resulted in the complete vanishing of the fear of being lost; instead exploring by "getting lost" became the most thrilling activity ever.