-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Is GPS All in Our Heads?
Date: Mon, 06 Feb 2012 09:42:29 -0500 (EST)
From: Paige G Andrew <[log in to unmask]>
To: Air Photo Maps, GIS Forum - Map Librarianship <[log in to unmask]>


Thanks for sharing this Joel. And..."amen" to Julie! I totally agree,
especially in the context of moving around in an urban environment, but
also even to mentally grasp the road networks across regions, states or
the country. For me, as an Army brat having moved multiple times across
country growing up, and then adding many experieces as an adult on my
own road trips, another advantage to building and growing our mental
maps is that it also builds self-confidence (and paper maps or road
atlases still work beautifully for this today). If I had to jump in my
car today and drive, say, to Gillette, Wyoming, I wouldn't give it a
second thought because I know it lies on I-90 and I've driven the
upper-midsection of the U.S. several times. GPS is a great tool, very
helpful in a variety of situations, but if one totally relies on it (and
the errors in the data that do lead people astray, sometimes tragically)
they lack the context of the environment they're in.

Paige

----- Original Message -----
From: "Angie Cope, American Geographical Society Library, UW Milwaukee"
<[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Monday, February 6, 2012 9:13:31 AM
Subject: Is GPS All in Our Heads?

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        Is GPS All in Our Heads?
Date:   Sat, 04 Feb 2012 08:26:46 -0500
From:   Joel Kovarsky <[log in to unmask]>
To:     [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>



   From Saturday's _NY Times_:
<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/opinion/sunday/is-gps-all-in-our-head.html?ref=opinion>.

A brief paragraph from the article by Julia Frankenstein:

      If maps help us, what is the problem with GPS? A lot: in my opinion,
      it is likely that the more we rely on technology to find our way,
      the less we build up our cognitive maps. Unlike a city map, a GPS
      device normally provides bare-bones route information, without the
      spatial context of the whole area. We see the way from A to Z, but
      we don’t see the landmarks along the way. Developing a cognitive map
      from this reduced information is a bit like trying to get an entire
      musical piece from a few notes.

Joel Kovarsky