James Couper-Johnston

Maidenhead, Berks

Technical Director

I agree wholeheartedly, and think GPS the single greatest advance is computer useability I've seen. It does that important essential of doing something necessary really well and improving people's lives.
I share the concerns, too. I think we should still learn which way is North and which is South and look at a 'paper' map to understand the relative geography of places we visit. It's the same as learning basic mental arithmetic so that you can spot the obvious error caused by incorrect keying of a decimal point or transposing two numbers. If you have no idea what the answer should be yourself, you can't spot if the 'machine' has got it wrong.
The other thing it might miss is the option to experiment. I've not yet seen a GPS system that has the choice quickest/shortest/prettiest/route-I've-never-used-before options... So there is still scope for human choice!!