Switched from GPS tracking to old-school landmark navigation on the Mississippi River last fall

I used to rely entirely on the chart plotter for positioning, but after the unit failed during a maintenance run near Baton Rouge, I had to fall back on reading the wing dams and buoys. Turned out I was burning 30% more fuel before because I was following the computer instead of the water. Anyone else ditch the electronics for a while and notice the difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

riverh491mo ago

Oh man, that's wild. I feel like we're all kind of guilty of trusting the screen more than our own gut instincts these days. It's not just on the water either, I've noticed people do the same thing with GPS on the road, taking stupid routes just because the app says so. There's something to be said for actually looking at the world around you and learning how to read it instead of just following a line on a map. I bet you felt way more in tune with the river after that trip, too.

king.val1mo ago

Honestly, is it really that deep though? People have been making bad calls based on bad advice since before screens existed. I remember my uncle following a hand-drawn map from a gas station and ending up in a field. Yeah, GPS sends you down some dumb roads sometimes, but most of the time it gets you where you need to go without having to think too hard. Ngl, I think we're overthinking this whole "trusting the screen" thing. It's just a tool, not a moral failing.

karenb971mo ago

Oh man, I actually read something about this a while back. There was a study that showed people remember routes way better when they use paper maps versus GPS. Something about how your brain actually processes the physical space differently. @riverh49 I definitely agree about feeling more tuned in after a trip like that. It's like when you'd ask for directions before phones existed and you'd actually remember landmarks and street names. Now I just zone out and expect the voice to tell me when to turn, then I couldn't tell you how I got there if you asked.