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| Yes | 51% | 350 votes | Total: 680 votes | |
| No | 49% | 330 votes |
Yes
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Add to FavoritesAs I ponder whether Global Positioning Systmes will ever replace conventional maps, I have other questions, although maybe I'm posing them a bit too late. Let's just examine a few. Will the automobile ever replace the horse? Will the computer ever replace the typewriter? Will the refrigerator ever replace the ice box?
Do we need more examples? Will television soap operas ever replace radio's soap operas? And how about some really hard ones to answer. Will the large-screen TV and Netflix ever replace any neighborhood movie houses? Will internet instant news services ever cause some hometown and city newspapers to shut down?
Of course, all the answers to the questions are yes. And I don't know anyone who disagrees that Global Potioning Systems are replacing the old Rand McNallys. Of course, printed maps won't disappear totally. They'll continue to sit unfolded in car glove compartments, as well as seen by students pasted on walls of geography and history classrooms. The ever-updating GPS is hundreds of times more useful than a printed map or the route grandma drew on the back of her shopping list for you. Without any input from you, it continues to look up at its satellite in the sky and become more effective, sophisticated and comprehensive literally by the hour.
For those of us who've installed the little devices or have ridden in vehicles equipped with GPS systems, the wonder of the endless capabilities will never cease. Did you ever dream that some day you could sit in your car in your own driveway and get precise instructions on how to get to grandma's house 293 miles away, with street by street and mile by mile instructions spoken to you by a hidden voice as you drive along. And while you're on the road, day and night, also be warned ahead of road hazards, traffic jams and bad weather throughout the journey.
There's even a Global Positioning System digitalized version of the back-seat driver, a sort-of-entertainmen t feature with your magic little box. It happens when you listen to the stern voice if you fail to obey its precise commands for a turn or stop at a destination. You can almost hear the tone of scorn the voice has for the clueless human when it says, "Reconfiguring". What it actually means is, "Hey, blockhead, I told you to turn right two blocks ago!" No map ever stood up to you and said, "Hey, you folded me wrong and you'll never be able to fold me right again!"
Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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No
Rule number one of not 'coming unstuck' is never put all your eggs in one basket! GPS systems can be very useful, but it is unwise to rely upon them totally for a number of reasons. Linked to this, it has to be said that the skill of being able to follow a map should not be allowed to die out. Young people should learn how to map read.
In the UK many drivers rely on GPS systems to find their way around. It did not take long for big trucks to start becoming wedged down quiet country lanes, too narrow and twisty for them either to go on or reverse out. Cranes have had to be used to lift some pretty big wagons out of this predicament. Coach drivers have plunged into plowed fields following the directions from their on-board GPS systems, to the consternation of their passengers. Common sense seems to fly out of the window sometimes, for some people, when faced with the instructions from a GPS system. There have been instances of delivery vehicles being directed tens or even hundreds of miles out of their way by faulty GPS advice. Any one navigating with a map would be far less likely to end up in these absurd situations.
GPS is not without its uses, of course, but it should not completely replace the good old map.
In a way it is a bit like the Officer of the Watch on a ship, staring at his radar screen to make sure there is no hazard ahead while plowing through small fishing boats directly in his ship's path. They do not show up on his radar, but if he used his eyes and actually kept a proper 'watch' he would see them and avoid them. Technology has its limitations.
In the wilderness it is one thing to use GPS to check where you are, confirming a map reference, but quite another to use it to chose a safe route to follow. The human brain can identify all sorts of data from a map and cross reference it with the evidence of our eyes to make decisions. Subservience to GPS will be unavoidable if no maps are available and it should come as no surprise if an increasing number of people come to grief as a result.
It is also the case that any system is capable of 'crashing'. Satellites used for GPS must be susceptible to solar flares which periodically erupt from the Sun, the 'Solar Wind' which is electrically charged. Personally, I would prefer any aircraft I was on at the time to have an 'old fashioned' navigator who knew where we all were independently of GPS when this happened! GPS is a useful add-on, but just as we back up our important computer files, so we should have back-up from maps and we should use it.
Learn more about this author, Mark Hopkins.
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