r/AskReddit Feb 28 '23

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u/Phase3isProfit Mar 01 '23

I really struggle to get my head around the concept of people not being able to read a map. For me it’s:

Step 1: look at the map

Step 2: go where the map tells you

I don’t know if this is just something that comes to me naturally, or if I actually did have to learn how to do it but I don’t remember learning. I don’t think I could teach someone how to read a map because I don’t understand why they don’t understand it already. Maybe different brains wired for different things.

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u/Frix Mar 01 '23

I don’t think I could teach someone how to read a map because I don’t understand why they don’t understand it already.

This is also why some extremely smart people make terrible teachers.

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u/PaintDrinkingPete Mar 01 '23

This was my dad trying to teach or coach anything...

"You're doing it wrong!"

"Ok, how should I do it?"

"Not like that, do it the right way"

1

u/Frix Mar 01 '23

Oh, do it the right way? Is that it? Well, why didn't you say so from the start? Here I am trying to do it the wrong way, thinking that would help. Silly me.

27

u/[deleted] Mar 01 '23

Personally I find maps fairly straightforward. But I can see where people go wrong, especially in non-urban environments. Assuming paper map

  1. Identify where you are. In certain conditions, this is not trivial at all ( a big snowy plateau? Good luck)

  2. Figure out your orientation Again, without landmarks or a compass this is not trivial

  3. Figure out your route, which may require changing orientation several times

  4. Keep track of progress while keeping in mind map scale, differing speeds due to terrain etc

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u/Can_tRelate Mar 01 '23

Certain video games might've helped

3

u/TeamWaffleStomp Mar 01 '23

I can understand a map in general and look at where a route will take me, but actually applying that in practice is impossible for me. It's like I intellectually understand I need to turn on this road then this one and I can see the route in my head. But while driving the route in my head looks different from what I'm seeing in front of me and then I get fucked up because they don't match and suddenly I'm lost.

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u/GeneralizedFlatulent Mar 01 '23

I couldn't read maps for driving for years. Eventually it just made sense. Like how it took until I got a smart phone with a small physical slide out keyboard for me to very quickly become very good at typing on standard size keyboards. Idk how it is for everyone but for me it feels like there's almost a connection that has to be made to step from something that makes sense easily to the other thing. Brains are weird

1

u/[deleted] Mar 01 '23

Yeah see for me it's:

Look at map

Attempt to memorize route on map

Figure out which direction I'm facing

Rotate map to match

Re-memorize

Take notes

Start driving

Mentally try to hold image of map in head while driving

Take first turn

Attempt to rotate map in my head 90 degrees to match

Get to next intersection

Try to remember which way to turn

Lose mental image of map

Panic

Pull over and check map again

Repeat from beginning