Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Smartphones Kill Spatial Thinking

This is a great article: Smartphones and the Uncertain Future of 'Spatial Thinking'. Smartphones and the associated navigation apps prevent you from creating a mental map of your environment by giving you the perfect path on a tiny screen. But, perfect for whom? How you get from A to B is of great interest to someone!

So, basically, precisely what we think of generating this renewed interest spatial 'things' may ultimately kill spatial thinking and awareness.

Great quote: "Isn't it ironic: the easier it is for me to get where I'm going, the less I remember how I got there. As a conscious consumer of geographic information, should I be rationing my access to navigation tools—the mental equivalent of taking the stairs instead of taking the elevator?"

Great quote: "With their small screens and egocentric perspectives, mobile navigation systems function like blinders, reducing the landscape to the width of a street. They narrow the world."


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