We navigated before compasses or any time of position system. Ships would travel well known routes from one place to another, with no care or knowledge of the a

We navigated before compasses or any time of position system. Ships would travel well known routes from one place to another, with no care or knowledge of the actual topology. You knew you could go a straight line from point A to points B and C, and from C to D. Even if D turns out to be near by to A, all that existed were routes between points, and people would likely still travel to C to reach D. It worked despite not really knowing where exactly anything was positioned.