 |
| "Baby Map of the World" (1939) by Salvador Dali |
The use of GPS clearly affects our interaction with our environment, removing negative feedback or "friction" and causing us to ignore environmental cues in favor of information presented by the GPS device. The stakes seem to be very high--along with cultural implications, our physical brains seem to be changing with decreased use of our own navigational skills. How extensively do you use GPS guidance to get around? How has your use of GPS devices affected your own navigational skills? Does learning about the connection between navigation and memory--and the potential to actually grow your hippocampus--motivate you to change your behavior?
The more I reflect on this question, the more I realize how often I do use GPS systems. I don't use them daily, but I have used them more than once. Considering I still get North, South, East, and West mixed up, GPS helps me to know which direction I am going, yet it hasn't helped me memorize them. Knowing that strengthening my navigational skills can make me smarter, it has influenced me to try and learn my directions even faster.
ReplyDeleteI live and work in a small town, so like Constance, I do not need to use my GPS on a daily basis. However, every time I go somewhere out of town, I use Maps. I do know my cardinal directions, but I am terrible at memorizing how to get places. I have been to Ada five times, and I still have to use Maps to get there. I will probably have to use Maps after I move to Ada, at least until I get used to the area.
ReplyDeleteMaps has helped me greatly when I need to get to a new place, but it has also made me lazy. I do not put effort into memorizing how to get around, I just open Maps. This question has definitely motivated me to become a better navigator. The next time I drive to Ada, I will not be using Maps. I will also be trying to use Maps less and use my memory more.
Like the previous comments, I do not use my GPS system every day, because I work and live in the same general area. Like Constance, I do not know the difference between North, East, South, and West when I’m at any given location. I will have to use the GPS to get to Ada, but I have not yet driven myself to Ada. Not only should I be memorizing how to get to places, it is not safe to be glued to my phone while driving down the road. That being said, I try not to use the GPS too frequently.
DeleteI only use my GPS when I am first learning how to get somewhere and I am generally able to tell the difference between North, South, East, and West. Therefore I do not rely on GPS very often but it does become incredibly helpful when I am going somewhere that I have never been or have not been in a long time. Even though I do not use GPS often, knowing that using it too much can cause problems with your memory will encourage me to not come to rely on it more in the future.
ReplyDeleteI'm like you in that I really only use the GPS for unknown places. I'm still terrible at deciding what is north,south,east, or west. GPS can be really helpful, but we should definitely be able to drive without it and read a map well.
DeleteI suppose that I have had a weird experience, because I am by nature, extremely directionally challenged and I believe that using a GPS has improved my navigational skills. While it makes perfect sense that a function that does all of the work for you would hinder your abilities, that simply has not been my experience. While I do not use GPS everyday, I do use it whenever I go somewhere for the very first time. However, instead of simply going through the motions, my mind holds on to all of the steps that I was directed to take. Instead of following the directions every time I travel to the same destination, I am simply able to recall the exact directions that I was given on my original trip. I allowed the GPS to be my guide and then took the information I retained and then applied it later on in life.
ReplyDeleteI definitely would say that I do the same thing! I almost always use it when I'm traveling somewhere new, but I try not to use it for the same place twice. Like you said, I really try to memorize and hold onto the directions the GPS gave me so I will not have to look up the directions to a location more than once.
DeleteI hardly ever use my GPS and find that I don't even think of it as an option. My parents have always used physical maps while out of town and taught me how to read them at a young age. If I ever need directions I find the nearest map. I have also been blessed with a pretty good natural compass. I can easily get around the town I live in and other cities that I frequently visit. When I read that my hippocampus could be in danger due to the use of GPS I was grateful that I hadn't ever relied on one and I vowed to do everything I can to keep it that way!
ReplyDeleteUnlike Kate, I have a rather terrible sense of direction. It takes me quite awhile to get my bearing in a new place even when I concentrate on where I am going. That being said, I often relied on the GPS on my phone to find my way around. However, after reading that my hippocampus might be in danger because of my codependent relationship with my GPS I have been trying to ween myself off of the device by looking at the directions beforehand each time and then trying to remember them until I can eventually remember them using only my brain power. My hippocampus will be saved!
DeleteI use GPS Maps every time I drive somewhere new, and sometimes when I have been somewhere but do not have the location memorized. I believe I could navigate most of the places I use the GPS for on my own, but I like the comfort of knowing that I will not get lost and that I will get there on the fastest route. I do think that I will stop relying on the GPS Maps so much, especially when I do not have to.
ReplyDeleteI find myself using my GPS when I go somewhere completely new. If I have to frequent the new place I'll take the time to memorize landmarks. It's a hassle to break out the map in the middle of a journey. I like to relate the destination to things that are near by. I'm far from the hippocampus olympics though. I think it'd be worth trying to find new destinations with my own devices more.
ReplyDeleteI only use gps when I’m going somewhere completely new to me. When I use gps I typically only look at it when I need to exit or turn. I like to look around and try and find landmarks so I remember where to go the next time I drive there. In my case it really helps. The downside to gps is that people solely rely on it and have no idea where they are without it. Apps such as Google Maps, and Waze help people avoid traffic and and even police officers. They definitely have very large upsides but used in the wrong way can have negative effects.
ReplyDeleteI am constantly on the road and GPS is an invaluable tool to me. For me to remember a route I have to drive it with and without a GPS at least once.
ReplyDeleteConstantly relying on my GPS has not effected me in any way, to my knowledge. I have maintained my directional awareness. I would argue that I am more knowledgeable about certain aspects of city/ highway driving after continuous use of my GPS. For example, without my GPS I wouldn't know how to navigate a cloverleaf interchange (those junctions on highways that have four loops and a bridge) or a roundabout. Honestly, learning about the connection between navigation and memory does not give me an incentive to rely less on my GPS. I am willing to potentially sacrifice synapses in my hippocampus for the efficiency and convenience of navigational technology.
I definitely overuse my calculator. I always use it, even if it’s something I know the answer to. I’ve just become so accustomed to not having to think about the problem at hand and just punch in some numbers that after a while I find myself having a harder time when I don’t have a calculation.
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean to put that post on here. Ignore that
ReplyDeleteThankfully, I got my navigating skills from my dad. For the most part, I can find things on my own or follow directions verbally given to me by someone. However, when I am not one hundred percent positive on where I am going, I do lean on my GPS to make sure I reach my destination. Although I do not use it often, I wish I did not use it at all. I always know that I would have felt more accomplished and more mentally stimulated if I would have just went my own way and found the place I am going by myself. Next time I decide to doubt myself, I will choose to trust myself and my navigational skills anyway.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of very many times I've had to rely on GPS. However, learning of the connection between navigation and memory does motivate me to resist the temptation should I feel the need to use one. The idea of growing my brain sounds awesome.
ReplyDeleteRight?! And the cool thing is that you can tell when it's working. I took a trip to OKC after reading this chapter and relied solely on my sense of direction and road signs to get to my destination, and it was almost bizarre how strong my sense of placement was in the area. It was a feeling that I only recognized because I had been lacking it previously.
DeleteI literally pull out my phone to go a few blocks down the street if I’m not positively certain as to where I am going. My GPS reliance is that extensive. Because of this reliance, I have formed very vague maps in my mind of places I visit all the time. I went to school in Pauls Valley for four years. I was there every day for school and most of the summers to visit my friends. By senior year I still had to use my phone to get from point A to point B. It was somewhat sad, but my phone was always there, so I didn’t see a real problem with it. After reading this book and learning a little about the Hippocampus and how my GPS was affecting it, I’ve definitely started to try and find things on my own with a map that doesn’t have a blue line I can follow blindly. But the problem wasn’t really in the GPS, I found. It was in my own reliance on it, and in the way I let it lead me. My GPS can still show me where I am, and act like a physical map without me allowing it to direct me places. I have stopped letting it route my trips for me, but I still use it as an aid. It works well. On the last trip I took to Stillwater I used this method and I think I can actually find my way back without having to use my phone. The fact that using my GPS actually affects my brain really freaks me out, and because of that I've been trying harder to not rely so heavily on GPS.
ReplyDeleteKamryn Akers