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Guest Post: Will Using GPS Make Us Stupid

This guest post was submitted by Phillip Presley. Everyday EMS Tips always welcomes guest post submissions from EMS professionals, EMS educators, and EMS students. All others are asked to first make a contribution to the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride, see submission guidelines, before submitting a post. I appreciate Phillips submission and his  contribution to the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride. 

Some people think that GPS units are making us stupid. This couldn’t be further from the truth. GPS lets us use our time more efficiently and allows us to get more done. This ability is making us smarter, not dumber. GPS units are pretty easy to use and help us to learn new skills, too.

For example, instead of plotting out a route on a set of maps bought from a gas station, we can type an address into our dashboard GPS unit and get to our final location even quicker. Many GPS units will even alert you when it is time to turn onto a different road.

  • Gone are archaic sports like orienteering. In are new sports like geocaching. Orienteering required an intimate knowledge of how to find your way through the wilderness with only a map and a compass. Geocaching, on the other hand, gives us a set of coordinates and tells us how to find a location using only our GPS units. Orienteering will surely not disappear completely, but using a GPS to find hidden objects has a much wider appeal to people looking to enjoy themselves in the wilderness. In this respect, GPS has brought outdoor adventure to a new set of people
  • If you have doubts about the efficacy of GPS, you shouldn’t. These units will surely adapt as our technology progresses and become even more interactive. This might dumb down some areas of knowledge, but it creates a new set of skills. Saying that GPS will make us all stupid is like saying the television eliminates the need to read books. Books are still around, but they have adapted to the 21st century. You can read books on your computer or e-reader now. Just because the format and medium has changed does not mean that we don’t need reading anymore. Reading is still a popular form of entertainment. If you don’t believe this, look at what Amazon’s e-books’ sales look like. Millions of e-books are sold each day.
  • GPS is a great tool for just about anyone. It can even enhance our athletic training. For example, GPS cycling computers let bikers train smarter and more efficiently. Not only can they determine how far you’ve ridden and how fast you are going, they can also tell you what your heart rate is and how much power you are producing on the bike. These skills do not make us dumber as athletes, they give us an ability to start training smarter and more efficiently.

If you’ve never used GPS, there is nothing stopping you. These units are much easier to use than ever before and many models are extremely affordable. You can purchase a good GPS unit for a relatively small price and start making your travel a lot easier. Efficiency lets us become smarter, not dumber.

About Phillip: My main interest is to teach people the proper uses of remote desktop software and all the applications that it has in modern day. The advice I give advocates efficiency and quality of work. In addition, I have always been captivated by helping people who might be doubtful of technology into changing their mind.