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A simple life hack is to keep your GPS in "North Up" mode. You can follow directions while still maintaining spatial awareness. I started doing this many years

A simple life hack is to keep your GPS in "North Up" mode. You can follow directions while still maintaining spatial awareness. I started doing this many years ago after a particularly egregious routing error sent me an hour in the wrong direction.

SoftTalker 3y ago
Yeah I do this too. I like the confirmation that I'm generally headed in the right direction.
justsomehnguy 3y ago
> while still maintaining spatial awareness That presumes there was spatial awareness in the first place. Most people don't understand directions (as in cardinal and relative) nor can relate their current position to the map. Hell, the reason most of them ain't lost and got eaten by wolves is just because they live in the cities, there are no wolves and eventually someone can point them to the right direction. Also, every time people use 'GPS' instead of a 'navigation system' I mentally facepalm again. Thanks, America. Now I need to get in my 'Nissan' Ford to drive to 'Target' Walmart.
blktiger 3y ago
I wish Apple Maps had a North Up mode. Unfortunately it doesn't and I had to abandon Google Maps because they made some algorithm changes that make it do dumb things like try to take you up a blocked private road and generally avoids the simpler routes in favor of a more "efficient" one.
- digging 3y ago
  Back when I used google maps, I especially hated its insistence on making unprotected left turns. If I knew the area it was taking me to, I would scan ahead for those and try to avoid them, but there were some terrifying times where I pulled up to a busy 5 or 6 lane stroad expected to turn left. I invariably turned right and took an alternate path, for the safety and comfort of everyone (except my map, which would scramble to figure out why I had done something so stupid).
toast0 3y ago
I want to like North Up, but it's not very functional with a phone screen. If you're going north or south, you can see what's coming up, but east or west and you have no ability to be visually ahead of where you are. Google Maps is already fighting against me by zooming in way too close, but it's worth in North Up. North up can be usable on my cars with GPS, but outdated maps and difficulty of making changes while in motion mean those aren't used.
LanceH 3y ago
I had never considered having my GPS any other way until my manager who was visiting from out of town said he thought I was mad. I've given it some thought since then. If I'm traveling through some place for the first time, current-direction-up makes some sense. Especially at night or when it is hazy. I just depend on the directions being correct, and zoom back out to make sure I'm going the right direction. If I'm travelling in some city like Phoenix which is laid out on a grid, north-up makes sense any time of day. Generally I have a reference in mind: "destination is north and east of me, this side of the river, and this side of the interstate -- don't cross those".
UltimateEdge 3y ago
I do this too. My phone will often tell me (or it will be clear from the surroundings) that the position marker is inaccurate, but it is harder to tell if the direction marker is accurate or not, so I just use the map for this.

SoftTalker 3y ago

Yeah I do this too. I like the confirmation that I'm generally headed in the right direction.

justsomehnguy 3y ago

> while still maintaining spatial awareness That presumes there was spatial awareness in the first place. Most people don't understand directions (as in cardinal and relative) nor can relate their current position to the map. Hell, the reason most of them ain't lost and got eaten by wolves is just because they live in the cities, there are no wolves and eventually someone can point them to the right direction. Also, every time people use 'GPS' instead of a 'navigation system' I mentally facepalm again. Thanks, America. Now I need to get in my 'Nissan' Ford to drive to 'Target' Walmart.

blktiger 3y ago

I wish Apple Maps had a North Up mode. Unfortunately it doesn't and I had to abandon Google Maps because they made some algorithm changes that make it do dumb things like try to take you up a blocked private road and generally avoids the simpler routes in favor of a more "efficient" one.

digging 3y ago
Back when I used google maps, I especially hated its insistence on making unprotected left turns. If I knew the area it was taking me to, I would scan ahead for those and try to avoid them, but there were some terrifying times where I pulled up to a busy 5 or 6 lane stroad expected to turn left. I invariably turned right and took an alternate path, for the safety and comfort of everyone (except my map, which would scramble to figure out why I had done something so stupid).

toast0 3y ago

I want to like North Up, but it's not very functional with a phone screen. If you're going north or south, you can see what's coming up, but east or west and you have no ability to be visually ahead of where you are. Google Maps is already fighting against me by zooming in way too close, but it's worth in North Up. North up can be usable on my cars with GPS, but outdated maps and difficulty of making changes while in motion mean those aren't used.

LanceH 3y ago

I had never considered having my GPS any other way until my manager who was visiting from out of town said he thought I was mad. I've given it some thought since then. If I'm traveling through some place for the first time, current-direction-up makes some sense. Especially at night or when it is hazy. I just depend on the directions being correct, and zoom back out to make sure I'm going the right direction. If I'm travelling in some city like Phoenix which is laid out on a grid, north-up makes sense any time of day. Generally I have a reference in mind: "destination is north and east of me, this side of the river, and this side of the interstate -- don't cross those".

UltimateEdge 3y ago

I do this too. My phone will often tell me (or it will be clear from the surroundings) that the position marker is inaccurate, but it is harder to tell if the direction marker is accurate or not, so I just use the map for this.