📘 Part 3: Navigation

This episode's vocabulary

In this day and age (idiom) - at the present time.

Up to speed (idiom) - if you are up to speed with a subject or activity, you have all the latest information about it and are able to do it well.

Coverage (noun) - the reporting of a particular important event or subject.

Passer-by (noun) - someone who is going past a particular place, especially when something unusual happens.

Likelihood (noun) - the chance that something will happen.

March (noun) - the continuous development of a state, activity, or idea.

Spatial awareness (noun) - the ability to understand the relationship between one's movements and the objects in one's surrounding environment.

To plot (verb) - to mark or draw something on a piece of paper or a map.

Questions and Answers

M: Why might paper maps still be necessary?

R: I mean, even in this day and age, there are places without internet access, or which suffer from various outages. So having physical copies of maps lying around might be useful. And even if you do have a connection, some places like zoos don't have online maps as details as the ones they produce for people to carry around with them. Even all the zoom functions and like might not be as accurate as what they've got on paper.

M: Why do some people prefer to use a paper map?

R: Well, for all kinds of reasons, they could be pretty old-fashioned and not up to speed with the latest tech or they might just live in a blackout area with no coverage like I mentioned previously.

M: What are the differences between paper and digital maps?

R: Well, the rule of technology seems like the most obvious difference. You could also zoom in and out on a digital map and get a greater level of detail most of the time. I suppose they could be updated more easily too, and take up less physical space. By contrast, a paper map is most likely to die on you since it's not got a battery. And it wouldn't take up as much memory in your phone. Although, I don't think they take up that much space anyway.

M: What do people usually do when they get lost?

R: Well, probably, they panic when they have the realization and then stop to ask for directions if there are any passers-by. Aside from that they might check an online map or some sort of service that provides support in all these situations. Worst case scenario, they can call the emergency services.

M: What do you think of an in-car GPS navigation?

R: I mean, it seems like a great way to reduce the chances of getting lost in all likelihood. Some people might think it's just another way people have become lazier with the march of technology, but I believe it's a great invention. And I don't even drive. So it's just so convenient, to be honest, or it sounds that way.

M: How can reading a map help you learn more about your country?

R: Well, there are different kinds of maps, a political one could help you learn more about the countries bordering your own. So you would have a better understanding of the place of your country in the world. A physical map would give you more knowledge of different places and their location above or below sea level, and different rivers and lakes and where they're located, things like that.

M: Why should children be taught to read maps at school?

R: Well, just talked about people getting lost. So that would be an advantage. And children have the time to learn about it at school, so why not? And they would also get a better understanding of how their country works like I mentioned just there as well.

M: Why do some people never get lost?

R: Well, some people are just blessed or gifted with a fantastic sense of direction and always seem to know where they're going. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say they have better spatial awareness and can plot their position on an imaginary map in their head. But I don't know enough about the subject to say for sure.