If someone asks me to walk in a straight line unassisted by navigational aids, I'd probably end up walking in a medium-sized circle of (optimistically) a few kilometers' diameter.
For everything beyond that, I'd need a compass or GPS and map, and then... I'd ask them to clarify if they meant a rhumb line, great circle line, or something else :)
> If someone asks me to walk in a straight line unassisted by navigational aids, I'd probably end up walking in a medium-sized circle of (optimistically) a few kilometers' diameter.
Why? If you just put one foot in front of the other, you will naturally walk along a geodesic--a great circle.
For everything beyond that, I'd need a compass or GPS and map, and then... I'd ask them to clarify if they meant a rhumb line, great circle line, or something else :)