Suck It, Dora
There was this thing that involved reading maps and contests and I don't remember the specifics, but I won. It was some sort of academic contest and it was determined that of all of the freshmen in my tiny little high school, I was the one who could best read a map.
Fast forward a few years and it occurred to me that reading a map was a rather pointless skill. In a world where the Internet can give you turn-by-turn directions, maps are sort of helpful. But, in a world with GPS, where even your phone can tell you that you need to turn right in 50 feet, nobody needs to be able to read a map.
I mean, it's still a useful skill, but not. Suck it, Dora.
Don't tell Alexis, though.
I don't know why she is fascinated with maps, but she always has been. If we go to the zoo, she grabs a map. She will use it to tell us what is coming up next and follow the paths all around.
She does the same thing at Phipps.
The crazy thing is that the kid could be a tour guide at both of those places. She doesn't need the dang map to know that we need to turn right, but yet she spends ten minutes staring and getting her bearing and figuring it all out every time it's time to move to a new section of the complex. IT'S MADDENING.
But yet, it's not.
Because the kid knows how to read a map and that's pretty cool.
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Reader Comments (10)
I love maps. No, strike that, I luuuurve them. When the internet apocalypse comes, and everyone's phones die, Alexis and I will be HIGHLY sought after, trust me.
I think maps are awesome. Each tells a story about its time and what was important to the mapmaker and the society that would've used the map. And its fun to compare antiques (or copies of antiques) with modern maps.
Map reading is a necessary and lost skill. I love it. Thought it drives my husband batty since he just has a natural sense of direction and claims he doesn't need a map. Typical.
My kids love maps too! We have to get a map every place we go (zoo, phipps, sandcastle etc.) They love finding everything on the map.
I don't know, map reading can come in pretty handy when you're in a city like, oh say Pittsburgh, and your GPS is all "I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, HAHAHAHA!" Then it's nice to actually know how to read all those little lines and such.
I have this unfounded fear of a day when, all of a sudden, there are no more GPS maps or turn-by-turn directions on your phone, and we're left with a population that has no idea how to get from point A to point B. So, right on Alexis.
She might like to Geo-cache the old school way when she gets a bit older, maybe. More exciting that way.
I don't know, map reading can come in pretty handy when you're in a city like, oh say Pittsburgh, and your GPS is all "I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, HAHAHAHA!" Then it's nice to actually know how to read all those little lines and such.
I have this unfounded fear of a day when, all of a sudden, there are no more GPS maps or turn-by-turn directions on your phone, and we're left with a population that has no idea how to get from point A to point B. So, right on Alexis.
She might like to Geo-cache the old school way when she gets a bit older, maybe. More exciting that way.
As an architect, I think this is a very useful skill. Map reading takes applying a two-dimensional graphic to the three-dimensional space around you. In my field, along with allied ones, we design three-dimensional objects and spaces that then have to be represented two-dimensionally in order to be communicated accurately to the builder. Maybe you're seeing a glimpse into Alexis' future profession...
I love maps, too! My husband loves that I love maps, also! I sit in the front seat for our road trips with the GPS, my iPhone and all my paper maps (AAA gives you five free ones every year with a triptik). Last trip, using the phone for traffic and all of the others for maps, I redirected us around at least three different major highway jam-ups from accidents onto scenic detours.
I also heavily agree with Katie on this being an extremely useful skill. I'm a civil engineer and it is extremely helpful to be able to visualize. I've witnessed the skilled versus unskilled (contractor father vs unable-to-visualize mother) and the repetitive and, frankly, hilarious conversations that can ensue.
I love my GPS, but I'm thankful I know how to read a map. Because technology fails all. the. time.
Or your GPS could be stolen. From your company's highly secure, cameras-everywhere, parking lot... in broad daylight, the day you were scheduled to leave on a weekend trip.
Not that that's ever happened to me or anything.
GPS is pretty cool in the US but in Mexico is a bit more complicated and not all streets are accounted for, so I still use regular maps to get to places, and I am known to always have a printed map every time I need to go somewhere I don't know.
i am a fan of maps! yaaaaaaaaaaaay, alexis!
(getting lost just once years ago when gps systems were rather new and the signals were not strong? yep, i was thankful i had a map and vowed to never again rely on technology when the batteries could die or signals might not be acquired.)