I’ve always loved maps, I can sit and stare into one for hours, imagining all the places represented. The best part of traveling to me is the surprising difference between what I imagined and the real world.
In this sense, I see maps as guides, not definitive truth. It gets you to the general right area where you can then really learn it for yourself.
I’ve found GPS turn-by-turn navigation to increase my reliance on the map as absolute truth, and have noticed a marked decrease in my cognitive mapping abilities. Now my wife and I will often play a game where we try to get home using no maps at all, to expand our cognitive map of an area. This is helpful because we move frequently due to our “nomad” lifestyle, which the article also describes quite accurately.
In this sense, I see maps as guides, not definitive truth. It gets you to the general right area where you can then really learn it for yourself.
I’ve found GPS turn-by-turn navigation to increase my reliance on the map as absolute truth, and have noticed a marked decrease in my cognitive mapping abilities. Now my wife and I will often play a game where we try to get home using no maps at all, to expand our cognitive map of an area. This is helpful because we move frequently due to our “nomad” lifestyle, which the article also describes quite accurately.