“The map appears to us more real than the land.”
—D.H. Lawrence
Does anyone use an actual map anymore? About half a dozen of them are in my glove compartment, like leftovers from another time. One is California and Nevada — I can’t remember why I have it — but the others are at least local.
I have a AAA membership; it’s a necessity as I have a habit of running out of gas. Roadside assistance is a big plus when you’re someone who thinks the “E” on the bottom of the gas gauge might stand for “Enough.” I keep the maps as a backup since it doesn’t offer a service where someone comes out and tells you how to get somewhere.
AAA still offers maps and TripTiks, even if many of us use GPS on a smartphone. That’s how we do it now: Space satellites beam down geographical information, and we find our way around the planet with the help of the heavens.
Have we come to depend too much on GPS, though? Do we put too much trust in the digital reality of a smartphone app rather than in the land around us? Pretty often we hear about someone who followed GPS directions to the letter and wound up splashing into a pond or lost in a forest.
Have we lost the ability to look around, ask someone for directions, or read a road sign?
When I use GPS to get to an unfamiliar place, I’d definitely notice if my destination was a doctor’s office or a concert venue yet I found myself guided by Siri’s voice down a dirt road to an old shopping mall parking lot.
Then again, there was that time when Siri was correct, and I was way off. I’d decided to head to North Conway, N.H., for some outlet shopping. I put the location into my phone in case of any detours, but I’d been to these outlets before and knew how to get there.
Or so I thought.
Once I got on the highway north, Siri started telling me to turn around, take the next exit, and change direction. I kept ignoring it, thinking it was a glitch or something, and hey, I’m a grown-up — I can find my way around without some robot. Frustrated with the constant “recalculating” and bleating instructions, I used the voice command and said, “Siri, stop navigating.”
Her reply? “We don’t seem to be navigating anywhere right now, Brenda. If you need directions, just say, ‘I need directions.’ Even though I know it’s impossible, she definitely had a snotty tone with me.
I kept driving until I finally realized she may have been right. Nothing around me was familiar from previous trips. Turns out I was on 93 North instead of 95 North. Not wanting to give Siri the smug satisfaction of complying with her instructions, I looked at my surroundings, remembered a back road I’d used in the past, and eventually got where I was going. I even checked the time and where the sun was in the sky to figure out which way to turn.
I felt like Magellan, finding my way around the globe, even though I was only 50 miles from home. Siri might have been right about which road to take, but the ability to rely on a bit of common sense and what was right in front of me got me to my destination.
Maps and apps can be helpful as a tiny snapshot, but the land is the big picture. Ditch the map occasionally and look around — you’ll get there.
Brenda Kelley Kim has lived in Marblehead for 50 years, and is an author, freelance writer, and mother of three. Her column appears weekly.