Mary Kenny
I have never acquired a GPS gadget to guide me on car journeys – yet another piece of technology one has to fuss over, it would seem. I know people who can’t set out on the simplest journey without one (I recall being a passenger in a trip from Dublin’s Stillorgan to Carrickmines, which is a few miles on a well-signposted road, with total focus on the thingamabob.)
I still use print maps, whether walking or driving, though I know it’s considered antediluvian. But now it turns out that I’m doing the right thing: studies have found that reading a print map is better for the cognitive processes of the brain than following GPS instructions. Poring over the map makes the brain do the work, and exercises the synapses; GPS is functional, but may make the brain lazy.
Although I can’t say I have an especially good sense of direction (one field of endeavour in which males are usually more skilled than females), I love maps: I think they give you a great picture of a terrain. And now I know they’re bracing for the old grey matter too.