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One if by Land, Two if by Sea
The New York Times just published (February 11, 2016) an opinion piece about using the GPS: Ignore the GPS. That Ocean Is Not a Road. By Greg Milner.
Milner gives us some great examples of people who have been led astray by faithfully following their GPS directions for hundreds of miles, across countries, to wrong cities, and into oceans.
Why do people unquestioningly follow their GPS device into the ocean or off a cliff?
Their use weakens our mental maps.
Most of us use GPS as a crutch while driving through unfamiliar terrain, tuning out and letting that soothing voice do the dirty work of navigating. Since the explosive rise of in-car navigation systems around 10 years ago, several studies have demonstrated empirically what we already know instinctively. Cornell researchers who analyzed the behavior of drivers using GPS found drivers “detached” from the “environments that surround them.” Their conclusion: “GPS eliminated much of the need to pay attention.”
The GPS is a great tool. So is a printed map. They complement each other. I like to use both.
I am not alone in that view. Over on the Practical Sailor Facebook page, they published an article from the Coast Guard News, announcing the approval of the official electronic chart.
“The Coast Guard will allow mariners to use official electronic charts instead of paper charts, if they choose to do so. With real-time voyage planning and monitoring information at their fingertips, mariners will no longer have the burden of maintaining a full portfolio of paper charts,” said Capt. Scott J. Smith, the chief of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of Navigation Systems. This technology will also allow mariners to take advantage of information and data to enhance situational awareness during voyage planning and while underway.
They ask, “What’s your opinion on digital vs. paper charts?” The comments say it all! The sailors want printed paper charts to use with their electronic navigation systems.
So,
One if by Land: Be sure you take a look at your map and check put the big picture before you jump in the car, program your GPS, and tune out.
and
Two if by Sea: Keep an updated paper chart for backup!
As always, Williams & Heintz would be pleased to give you a quote on your map printing project or print a NOAA POD Chart for you.
What is a Map? Maps Provide the Big Picture
What is a map?
A map is a way to present information on music, history, science, and the arts in new ways. A map is a tool that helps you make connections between different places; to connect the dots.
What is a map?
A map is Like the International Map Industry Association: IMIA is all about the business of maps. IMIA helps you make connections between different people in the map business.
What is a map?
A map is about how to make a living; a creative endeavor to put food on the table for us and our employees. Printing maps was my Daddy’s and Granddaddy’s business. It is mine still.
What is a map?
A map is something that my Daddy and Granddaddy made at work. Every morning they went away. Every evening they came home. Sometimes, with a great big printed paper map. It is to put on the wall, a gift for friends and neighbors. A map can be an artistic expression and a marketing tool.
Some may say that the printed map is done for, but it is a mistake to see it as a print vs. digital media competition. The greatest result is achieved when the two are used together. The printed map provides the “big picture” and the resulting spatial awareness shows you where to crunch down for detail using the mobile device. Without the digital, you lose the enormous resources of the internet. Without the printed map you don’t know what to do with the mobile device. Electronic devices are not replacing printed products, but they complement each other, and make each more effective.
This post was originally published on the IMIA Blog
With respect to maps it’s a mistake to see it as a print vs mobile media competition. The greatest result is achieved when the two are used together. The printed map provides the “big picture” and the resulting spatial awareness shows you where to crunch down for detail using the mobile device. Without the mobile device you lose the enormous resources of the internet. Without the printed map you don’t know what to do with the mobile device. A salesman once explained it to me as follows: He had covered sales territories using both printed maps and using his gps. In both instances he could get from point A to B and back again, but when only using gps, he never really knew where he was. That sounds to me like missed opportunities.
Yesterday SI Live published an article titled: “Paper trail: Staten Island lawmakers push legislatures to go paperless”. It contains several misleading environmental arguments on going paperless in favor of electronic communication, including this statement by the author:
“Whole forests are destroyed to comply with this quaint and, in this day and age, entirely unnecessary tradition. It’s a colossal and, frankly, shameful waste in a time when government is supposed to be more environmentally conscious. “
Below I address the main points, but I would also encourage people in the print and paper industries of NY State to voice their concerns to:
- U.S. Congressman Michael Grimm
- City Councilman James Oddo
- Assemblyman William Magnarelli
- State Senator Andrew Lanza
- Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis
As a private forest owner who has made his living in the forest and paper industry, this type of misinformation really disappoints me. I wish that more people…
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