Author—Mary Beth Lowell – Communications Manager

Antique_map

In the same week that Tom Tom released a study showing that GPS devices can make for safer, more alert drivers, an ABC News article published a piece questioning whether or not GPS will "make us dumb."

The ABC News article states that once we have GPS, we rely heavily on it. Ok, why is this bad you ask? I rely on my computer, I rely on my coffee maker, I rely on my cell phone, I rely on my car, etc.

According to one scientist in the article, as we use GPS more and more, "people’s ability to read maps will decay." Hmmm…

Obviously we’re biased here at TeleNav to the benefits of GPS. I can name more than one situation where having TeleNav GPS Navigator helped me find my way when I would have otherwise been truly lost. Even besides navigation, GPS has also saved lives of people lost in the woods, found kids who had wandered away or been abducted, and helped keep track of many criminals out on the street.

While I understand the argument that evolution in technology may result in using different parts of our brain (my children will no doubt never learn how to use a slide rule), I’m still not convinced this is a bad thing.

Call me dumb but … I’m not interested in using an abacus to balance my checkbook, using a typewriter to get my work done, or using a map while driving.

What do you think?