4 ms·

Maps are like script handwriting. Obsolete in practice and it's a shame. Both offer real advantages. Both are not worth the effort compared to modern tools. It

• dev_tty01 3y ago
  >Maps are like script handwriting. Obsolete in practice and it's a shame. Hmm. Not a good analogy. Script handwriting adds no new information. A 1 meter square backcountry topo map provides way more info than looking at a handheld screen. I can see big picture terrain as well as high resolution of my immediate surroundings. Completely different sense of surroundings and the information is simultaneously clear in overall layout, dense, and abundant. It is decidedly not obsolete. I would never take an extended backcountry trip without a detailed waterproof topo map and a compass. Stuff happens. Batteries fail, screens shatter, etc... However, you don't have to go into the backcountry to benefit from a printed map. A city map will immediately impart a much better sense of spatial relations between different points and a more immediately intuitive understanding of the routing between the points.