Pre-(consumer) GPS, I definitely got turned around even in cities I knew reasonably well that aren't on a grid system in parts. It can be bad enough today in some sections of busy cities where you need to constantly shift lanes etc. and be at least moderately aggressive but trying to drive with a map open on your lap at night could be a bit of a nightmare--and not especially safe. It probably took me years before I had a passable sense of the geography of Boston.
reply> Pre-(consumer) GPS, I definitely got turned around even in cities I knew reasonably well that aren't on a grid system in parts. It can be bad enough today in some sections of busy cities where you need to constantly shift lanes etc. and be at least moderately aggressive but trying to drive with a map open on your lap at night could be a bit of a nightmare--and not especially safe.
replyAs I was reading your comment I was imagining how hard it would be to do in Boston where even using a GPS gives me borderline paranoia then I finished reading your comment.. Yeah that's not something I'd wish on my worst enemy.
I have a friend I sometimes take to the Longwood Medical Center area (which I'm not very familiar with). She's actually quite a careful conservative driver. But we go there and it's get in the left lane, now get in the right lane, don't leave so much space in front, follow where that car is going, etc. Cambridge I actually know pretty well but I try to avoid Boston.
replyI was imagining how hard it would be to do in Boston
replyAnd yet people did it for 500 years.
Makes you wonder what millions of your predecessors could do that you can't.
Navigate and safely drive at the same time maybe? Which people were presumably not doing 500 years ago. When walking, you're in a lot better position to stop and get your bearings. You're probably also not walking as much to totally unfamiliar areas even if I did get myself a bit lost a few times when I was first in the area.
replyNot necessarily.
replyFor example, landmark-based navigation is good in rural areas but not generally in cities (of today).
I believe there are studies on this, in fact.
> Makes you wonder what millions of your predecessors could do that you can't.
replyMillions of your predecessors died in ways easily preventable today.
"Let others praise ancient times; I am glad I was born in these." - Ovid
"Most European cities" entered the room ;)
replyYeah, but I'm usually not driving around European cities so it's less of an issue.
replyFlashbacks of driving around Los Angeles with a Thomas Guide and a new bride…
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