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Imagine driving from New York City to the ferris wheel on Santa Monica Pier in California in 1970; map on the dashboard, low on gas and hungry. Now imagine using GPS in 2023 to make the same trip. As we travel the nearly 3,000 miles, we know the way to our final destination and the closest food and gas. Of course, GPS is designed to plot your journey based on efficiency of time versus what sights and experiences we might be missing along the way. As Michael Bond points out in his fascinating and easy-to-read book, GPS may deliver you to a destination, but it also denies us a "work out" of our navigational skills, understanding of new landscapes and confidence. It also affects other cognitive skills that were built on top of wayfinding skills humans have developed over thousands of years.
Understanding some of the innate processes in the brain that help us orientate (as well as those that can undermine us) helps us form cognitive maps. These maps are formed through egocentric and spatial interaction. Like when we lose our keys, we quickly lose our patience when the logic of where they should be (but are not) convinces us that those keys are conspiring against us. No, they did not "just get up and walk to a different location," but that's the way we feel. Irrational? Perhaps. More importantly, it illustrates how easily stress induces irrational thoughts. Even in moments of mild to moderate stress.
Now imagine trying to find your phone during an emergency so you can call 9-1-1. Stress is already at work by the time you've found it. And then 9-1-1 dispatch asks, "What's your emergency? What is your location? Is the person breathing?" And so on. At the same time, the fire, gun shots or heart attack victim is demanding your attention. This is an unfamiliar landscape. Your brain, hands and heart aren't in sync. You're losing your way.
Bond's book is an excellent primer for those who seek a better understanding of the cognitive processes that help us find our way -- or disrupt it. It takes into consideration the importance of knowing where you are and want to go, and what you need -- whether you have lost your keys or are in charge of a room full of children who depend on you when confronted with a situation beyond comprehension or experience. Eric's Grade: A
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