Posted on 02/13/2019 8:57:19 PM PST by Rebelbase
Full title: Mankind has lost the art of map reading, says the man who INVENTED GPS: Bradford Parkinson says world is 'too dependent' on smartphones that are vulnerable to failure
The inventor of GPS has lamented that people are unable to read maps because they are now 'too dependent' on using their smartphones or sat-nav devices.
Bradford Parkinson, the pioneer inventor of the navigation system relied upon by billions of people, said that he 'worries' about what impact its failure could have.
Professor Parkinson received the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering in London last night for his key role in developing the Global Positioning System or GPS, along with the rest of his team: Professor James Spilker, Jr, Hugo Fruehauf, and Richard Schwartz.
They originally began working on the system in the 1970s as a military project but were unaware of the revolutionary impact it would have on wider society.
GPS signal is made by a network of around 30 spacecraft in orbit that transmit positional information and precise timing to receivers around the globe.
It helps cars, trucks, planes, ships and trains to navigate as well as providing a timing reference for the financial industry.
Professor Parkinson said that many of the tasks it performs were not anticipated when it was created but that it is vulnerable to failure, the Times reports.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
But you sound like the people of my great grandfather’s era, smugly pronouncing how prepared they were should there suddenly be no gasoline for automobiles.
I’m afraid many of the younger generation will simply wheel the increasingly present back up generator out of the garage and fire it up.
If you don’t live someplace where the power goes out for extended periods then maybe you are unaware of how common they have become. In areas frequently hit by tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, or blizzards they have become a middle class standard accoutrement.
Map porn
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/
Circa 1967, in physics class we used slide rules. One always knew who was a science nerd. We had a slide rule poking out of our shirt pocket or a really good one hanging off our belts. The really good ones were to big for a shirt pocket.
I have no problem reading paper maps - and I imagine any millenial who can use the map display on a car GPS can figure it out as well. But I don’t miss the old paper maps I used to get down at the AAA - unfolding them, finding your destination and figuring out a route, then folding them back up again. Maybe if they’d ever once folded up as neatly as they were before I used them.
Best way is a helicopter.
I’ve got a DeLorme topographic road atlas for my state. It’s been invaluable for finding out of the way and off the beaten track places to camp and fish.
Hi Michael!
I wouldn’t say totally dependent. Don’t you still need an IFR map? Or do the new GPS have a moving map display? It’s been 15 year since I have flown.
Mrs. L and I can both read maps and use a compass.
Getting to be a lost art.
L
What brand and model are they?
L
I blew a friend’s mind once when she called me to help her figure out if she was going the right way on the interstate.
I knew she needed to be heading east and asked her which way the trees were casting shadows on the road. She said they were coming from the left and I told her to ‘turn around you’re heading west’.
I still see maps in a few convenience stores in my area.
She is one of the funnier things on youtube.
Looks good. Bookmarked.
My dad, Roger Easton, invented GPS. See my website www.gpsdexlassified.com
That’s pretty cool. Your dad has a Wikipedia page.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_L._Easton
All the USGS topo maps are online so even if you tossed your physical copies you can still find and print one if/when you need it. Most historical ones back to the late 1800s are online too. Great resource if you like to study and understand the development of a particular area. The old ones (pre ~1950) show each individual building and feature.
I think most people can read them. What’s been lost is the ability to properly fold up a map you just used.
The military, more than any other org, is trained on how to navigate when all GPS is lost.
At least I would hope so.
The rest of us will never get home.
Of course, some people have always been that way. My wife could be watching a sunrise and still not be able to tell you which way was east.
I worked with Brad Parkinson for a couple of years when he served on an advisory/review board that I was shepherding. Freaking brilliant and the quickest critical and analytical thinker I have ever met. He could zoom in from a general problem description to the key root issues in minutes and be right 90% of the time. He probably still can, for that matter ...
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