5 ms·

Orienteering is a good skill to have. My wife and one of my best friends could both get lost trying to get out of a cardboard box. With that said, in the days

Orienteering is a good skill to have. My wife and one of my best friends could both get lost trying to get out of a cardboard box. With that said, in the days before GPS, I recall wandering off my planned route for a bit in a new to me city, crossed the wrong street, and ended up in the poorest neighborhood and gang controlled territory. Nothing came of it, other than a lesson learned to be a little more careful about planning potential deviations rather than impromptu ones. Going into the donut store and having to pass money under bullet proof glass and getting the donut through a revolving bullet proof door was certainly an interesting experience, though not one I'd care to repeat.

ghaff 2mo ago
Pre-(consumer) GPS, I definitely got turned around even in cities I knew reasonably well that aren't on a grid system in parts. It can be bad enough today in some sections of busy cities where you need to constantly shift lanes etc. and be at least moderately aggressive but trying to drive with a map open on your lap at night could be a bit of a nightmare--and not especially safe. It probably took me years before I had a passable sense of the geography of Boston.
- reilly3000 2mo ago
  Flashbacks of driving around Los Angeles with a Thomas Guide and a new bride…
- tharkun__ 2mo ago
  "Most European cities" entered the room ;)
  - ghaff 2mo ago
    Yeah, but I'm usually not driving around European cities so it's less of an issue.
    - GJim 2mo ago
      Well, in one you certainly wouldn't need to "pass money under bullet proof glass and getting the donut through a revolving bullet proof door".
      - zdragnar 2mo ago
        In all fairness, it may not have actually been bullet proof. It was very thick, so I made a bit of an assumption based on what I know about it (which is mostly watching super slowotion videos on YouTube). Perhaps it was only hammer or knife proof. It was definitely meant to protect employees in a high crime neighborhood, at the very least.
- the_lucifer 2mo ago
  > Pre-(consumer) GPS, I definitely got turned around even in cities I knew reasonably well that aren't on a grid system in parts. It can be bad enough today in some sections of busy cities where you need to constantly shift lanes etc. and be at least moderately aggressive but trying to drive with a map open on your lap at night could be a bit of a nightmare--and not especially safe. As I was reading your comment I was imagining how hard it would be to do in Boston where even using a GPS gives me borderline paranoia then I finished reading your comment.. Yeah that's not something I'd wish on my worst enemy.
  - reaperducer 2mo ago
    I was imagining how hard it would be to do in Boston And yet people did it for 500 years. Makes you wonder what millions of your predecessors could do that you can't.
    - ghaff 2mo ago
      Navigate and safely drive at the same time maybe? Which people were presumably not doing 500 years ago. When walking, you're in a lot better position to stop and get your bearings. You're probably also not walking as much to totally unfamiliar areas even if I did get myself a bit lost a few times when I was first in the area.
    - JoshTriplett 2mo ago
      > Makes you wonder what millions of your predecessors could do that you can't. Millions of your predecessors died in ways easily preventable today. "Let others praise ancient times; I am glad I was born in these." - Ovid
    - pretzellogician 2mo ago
      Not necessarily. For example, landmark-based navigation is good in rural areas but not generally in cities (of today). I believe there are studies on this, in fact.
      - ghaff 2mo ago
klvino 2mo ago
Used to do it as a hobby for a day or two at a time. Just drive in a random direction and take roads you don't know. After a day of driving break out paper maps to find my location. No asking for directions. Ran across interesting things like Natchez Trace Parkway. Do something similar in large cities except only look at the city's map the day before and then set out sans map using public transit and foot only. My directionally challenged friends thought it curious so a couple tagged along once. One of them had a blast "getting lost" on purpose and dubbed them adventures and continued tagging along, becoming the highlight of trips. Find things you do not expect, good and bad. Keep a good nature and you meet interesting people.

ghaff 2mo ago

Pre-(consumer) GPS, I definitely got turned around even in cities I knew reasonably well that aren't on a grid system in parts. It can be bad enough today in some sections of busy cities where you need to constantly shift lanes etc. and be at least moderately aggressive but trying to drive with a map open on your lap at night could be a bit of a nightmare--and not especially safe. It probably took me years before I had a passable sense of the geography of Boston.

reilly3000 2mo ago
Flashbacks of driving around Los Angeles with a Thomas Guide and a new bride…
tharkun__ 2mo ago
"Most European cities" entered the room ;)
- ghaff 2mo ago
  Yeah, but I'm usually not driving around European cities so it's less of an issue.
  - GJim 2mo ago
    Well, in one you certainly wouldn't need to "pass money under bullet proof glass and getting the donut through a revolving bullet proof door".
    - zdragnar 2mo ago
      In all fairness, it may not have actually been bullet proof. It was very thick, so I made a bit of an assumption based on what I know about it (which is mostly watching super slowotion videos on YouTube). Perhaps it was only hammer or knife proof. It was definitely meant to protect employees in a high crime neighborhood, at the very least.
the_lucifer 2mo ago
> Pre-(consumer) GPS, I definitely got turned around even in cities I knew reasonably well that aren't on a grid system in parts. It can be bad enough today in some sections of busy cities where you need to constantly shift lanes etc. and be at least moderately aggressive but trying to drive with a map open on your lap at night could be a bit of a nightmare--and not especially safe. As I was reading your comment I was imagining how hard it would be to do in Boston where even using a GPS gives me borderline paranoia then I finished reading your comment.. Yeah that's not something I'd wish on my worst enemy.
- reaperducer 2mo ago
  I was imagining how hard it would be to do in Boston And yet people did it for 500 years. Makes you wonder what millions of your predecessors could do that you can't.
  - ghaff 2mo ago
    Navigate and safely drive at the same time maybe? Which people were presumably not doing 500 years ago. When walking, you're in a lot better position to stop and get your bearings. You're probably also not walking as much to totally unfamiliar areas even if I did get myself a bit lost a few times when I was first in the area.
  - JoshTriplett 2mo ago
    > Makes you wonder what millions of your predecessors could do that you can't. Millions of your predecessors died in ways easily preventable today. "Let others praise ancient times; I am glad I was born in these." - Ovid
  - pretzellogician 2mo ago
    Not necessarily. For example, landmark-based navigation is good in rural areas but not generally in cities (of today). I believe there are studies on this, in fact.
    - ghaff 2mo ago

klvino 2mo ago

Used to do it as a hobby for a day or two at a time. Just drive in a random direction and take roads you don't know. After a day of driving break out paper maps to find my location. No asking for directions. Ran across interesting things like Natchez Trace Parkway. Do something similar in large cities except only look at the city's map the day before and then set out sans map using public transit and foot only. My directionally challenged friends thought it curious so a couple tagged along once. One of them had a blast "getting lost" on purpose and dubbed them adventures and continued tagging along, becoming the highlight of trips. Find things you do not expect, good and bad. Keep a good nature and you meet interesting people.