4 ms·

My wife is definitely in the cannot read a map group. It astounds me and I've given up all hope of teaching her how to read a map. Even with GPS maps in the car

by speg 3y ago

My wife is definitely in the cannot read a map group. It astounds me and I've given up all hope of teaching her how to read a map. Even with GPS maps in the car it's still iffy. I know there is a stereotype about females and spatial awareness, maybe that has something to do with it but I like to think it was all my time playing video games as a kid, which often had a map in the HUD or whatnot.

Enginerrrd 3y ago
I think it's just cultural exposure rather than any sort of brain difference when it comes to map reading. As a young lad, I did lots of map and compass work in boy scouts, and then more doing backpacking with my male friends. When I started hunting with those same buddies, map reading ability was assumed and absolutely essential for survival. A typical excursion is miles from a road or trail in heavily forested mountains. For some reason, I found my female friends mostly chose other forms of mutual recreation in their youth. I knew a few though that didn't and they were just as good as my male friends. And now as a Civil Engineer, I often make maps for sites in GPS-difficult areas (heavy tree cover). So I've gotten REALLY good at piecing things together from tiny little details in satellite photography. Like nothing replaces seeing aerial shots over and over again and comparing it to what youve seen on the ground. The single biggest skill that GPS is killing isn't symbolic recognition in the map, it's what I call "thinking big". GPS directions are the minutia, and if you follow directions at that scale, its VERY easy to become disoriented or lost. In contrast, if you just quickly scan the larger map features (position of a big mountain, the freeway, a large park boundary, etc, you can mostly navigate without the GPS at all. I might take different streets to get to the freeway, but I'll still get there. In open country, you can't look at the trees or trail markers as your primary guide. You'll be in danger of getting lost. The skill is rather knowing which mountain you're on, where it is relative to other mountains, and counting the large scale features like ridges, valleys/streams, and general position of roads. I don't need turn by turn directions to get to the road due south of my position and then know I can follow it back up to the truck.
- SoftTalker 3y ago
  > GPS directions are the minutia, and if you follow directions at that scale, its VERY easy to become disoriented or lost. In contrast, if you just quickly scan the larger map features (position of a big mountain, the freeway, a large park boundary, etc, you can mostly navigate without the GPS at all. Yes I find that even driving, if I follow Apple or Google maps navigation I'll realize that I have no clear idea how to get back to where I started. Back in the days when I'd have to look at a paper street map and plot my own course in advance, I'd have a much better sense of where I was and how to backtrack.
- DavidPeiffer 3y ago
  > The single biggest skill that GPS is killing isn't symbolic recognition in the map, it's what I call "thinking big". I agree completely. If I'm using GPS to navigate around a town, I've found looking at the route first and creating a general narrative helps. Something like "I'm traveling generally southwest. Most of my time is on I-80, and my exit is shortly after the big turn after which I'll continue west."
- giantrobot 3y ago
  > GPS directions are the minutia, and if you follow directions at that scale, its VERY easy to become disoriented or lost. I can't bring myself to use turn by turn directions unless I can look at the overview map first. The turn by turn is useful to me to find an unfamiliar freeway exit or a turn onto a street with terrible signage. But I need to see the overall map first to prime it in my head. I get really frustrated at online maps that don't show street names (and one-ways) at medium levels of detail. Or they'll put the street label just outside the viewport.
- LanceH 3y ago
  > I think it's just cultural exposure rather than any sort of brain difference when it comes to map reading. I'm not convinced of this. My oldest could read a map before kindergarten. He could navigate IKEA or the zoo. My middle child is hopeless even as she heads to college. We joke about sending the (much) younger brother with her so she doesn't get lost. It's only half a joke. I've also had my time in the military (pre-GPS) watching a wide range of people fail spectacularly at land navigation. While the very poorly educated often did poorly and had little ability to abstract, the same bad navigation skills were on display with academy graduates who presumably already had more training before I ever saw them in the field. There is definitely something innate to reading and navigating by map in my experience.

by speg 3y ago

Enginerrrd 3y ago

I think it's just cultural exposure rather than any sort of brain difference when it comes to map reading. As a young lad, I did lots of map and compass work in boy scouts, and then more doing backpacking with my male friends. When I started hunting with those same buddies, map reading ability was assumed and absolutely essential for survival. A typical excursion is miles from a road or trail in heavily forested mountains. For some reason, I found my female friends mostly chose other forms of mutual recreation in their youth. I knew a few though that didn't and they were just as good as my male friends. And now as a Civil Engineer, I often make maps for sites in GPS-difficult areas (heavy tree cover). So I've gotten REALLY good at piecing things together from tiny little details in satellite photography. Like nothing replaces seeing aerial shots over and over again and comparing it to what youve seen on the ground. The single biggest skill that GPS is killing isn't symbolic recognition in the map, it's what I call "thinking big". GPS directions are the minutia, and if you follow directions at that scale, its VERY easy to become disoriented or lost. In contrast, if you just quickly scan the larger map features (position of a big mountain, the freeway, a large park boundary, etc, you can mostly navigate without the GPS at all. I might take different streets to get to the freeway, but I'll still get there. In open country, you can't look at the trees or trail markers as your primary guide. You'll be in danger of getting lost. The skill is rather knowing which mountain you're on, where it is relative to other mountains, and counting the large scale features like ridges, valleys/streams, and general position of roads. I don't need turn by turn directions to get to the road due south of my position and then know I can follow it back up to the truck.

SoftTalker 3y ago
> GPS directions are the minutia, and if you follow directions at that scale, its VERY easy to become disoriented or lost. In contrast, if you just quickly scan the larger map features (position of a big mountain, the freeway, a large park boundary, etc, you can mostly navigate without the GPS at all. Yes I find that even driving, if I follow Apple or Google maps navigation I'll realize that I have no clear idea how to get back to where I started. Back in the days when I'd have to look at a paper street map and plot my own course in advance, I'd have a much better sense of where I was and how to backtrack.
DavidPeiffer 3y ago
> The single biggest skill that GPS is killing isn't symbolic recognition in the map, it's what I call "thinking big". I agree completely. If I'm using GPS to navigate around a town, I've found looking at the route first and creating a general narrative helps. Something like "I'm traveling generally southwest. Most of my time is on I-80, and my exit is shortly after the big turn after which I'll continue west."
giantrobot 3y ago
> GPS directions are the minutia, and if you follow directions at that scale, its VERY easy to become disoriented or lost. I can't bring myself to use turn by turn directions unless I can look at the overview map first. The turn by turn is useful to me to find an unfamiliar freeway exit or a turn onto a street with terrible signage. But I need to see the overall map first to prime it in my head. I get really frustrated at online maps that don't show street names (and one-ways) at medium levels of detail. Or they'll put the street label just outside the viewport.
LanceH 3y ago
> I think it's just cultural exposure rather than any sort of brain difference when it comes to map reading. I'm not convinced of this. My oldest could read a map before kindergarten. He could navigate IKEA or the zoo. My middle child is hopeless even as she heads to college. We joke about sending the (much) younger brother with her so she doesn't get lost. It's only half a joke. I've also had my time in the military (pre-GPS) watching a wide range of people fail spectacularly at land navigation. While the very poorly educated often did poorly and had little ability to abstract, the same bad navigation skills were on display with academy graduates who presumably already had more training before I ever saw them in the field. There is definitely something innate to reading and navigating by map in my experience.