"Smart people dont know all the answers, they KNOW HOW TO GET THE ANSWERS. Thats exactly what a GPS does."

That's also what a calculator does...but knowing what numbers to punch in a calculator to get the right answer doesn't mean you know the underlying math was and how it works.

Just because one can use a GPS to get where they're going doesn't meant one can read a map and use a compass. What happens when your batteries die? (for a handheld) What happens when there's a nuclear war or gamma ray burst and no sold state electronics work anymore, but you don't know how to read a map? This is unlikely, but that's not the point. Dependence on technology is what Ted Kaczysnky warned about.

IMO, there's nothing wrong with using GPS, but if one relies on it and never learns how to use a map, that is detrimental to society. It's just like having to use a calculator to do basic arithmetic, and not even having a clue as to what the answer should close to be, so not noticing when a serious error is made (such as when entering the data). That's why I know how to use a slide rule (which forces one to think of where the decimal place is required), and can add, subtract, multiply, and divide in my head. It's not a useless skill (try using a calculator while driving, then trying to write down the answer :).

One thing you forgot. Now, quite a few more people will learn how to read a map.

I use gps because it saves a lot of gas in my car (range rover) that uses, well lots of gas. I live in a fairly large city with a metro area of over a million people, with a large down town, 3 dozen suburbs or so and and 20-30 small towns within an hours drive of the city. I can get anywhere in my city without gps but I find gps saves gas when you are finding places you're not sure quite exactly where its at, It saves you from rolling around for 20 minutes trying to pin down an address. In a range rover the 20 minutes easily costs 5 bucks gallon when you add depreciation, taxes, and gas. Not to mention the 20 minutes saved is probably worth at least a few hundred dollars if it's trading hours. So maybe gps isn't so dumb after all. Or at least not in a car that gets 10 mpg.

Not dumbing, just changing. Once we navigated by stars. Did that mean the compass dumbed us down? Not necessarily, no, it just changed how we did things.

The compass still required someone to have a map and such or at least have a sense of direction. And also I don't think anyone really used a compass in a city that they lived in for a while.

I pretty much agree with the article, its good for when you're out of town and don't have anyone to help you find your way. GPS is just another example of how people are just relying on technology too much I guess. I mean I'd probably be one of those people who would use GPS in a place that I know like the back of my hand. But I'm not sure I know the back of my hand very well...

of all the things to be pissed off about in society, GPS and not navigating using the sun is what gets your goat?

man am i glad insane people self-identify.

How stupid is that! Lots of people would like to know how to get from one place to another without wasting gas. This person obviously has never been lost in a strange bad part of town with children in the car. If you don't like a GPS, don't down people who do.

I admit, getting lost is not fun, nor cost effective, not even environmentally friendly. BUT I totally agree with the fact that we are "dumbing down" society and have been for years, and unfortunately will continue to do so. We do, as a society in general rely too much on technology and not enough on our own brains. Look at calculators as an example .. how many people can actually add, subtract, multiply and divide without the use of one. Unfortunately, more can multiply than obviously should, it would be nice if they could add first. I'll stop with that subject there since it's a totally differant discussion . .

I guess people driving vehicles that only get 10 mpg (for example) maybe are doing society a favor though by using a GPS when discussing the environment. I'm just glad that not everyone who can afford such a vehicle (and the gas that it takes to get out of their driveway) actually owns one. But, I am not one to tell anyone what they should or should not do .. just voicing my opinion.

Bottom line -- it would be great if we could all learn to read an old fashioned map, and while we're at it, how to fold one too.

Here's the thing though. Excessive use of technology, or I suppose as Pat says, "in general rely too much on technology", is only dumbing you down if you let it! Instead of seeing the GPS as a step down, see it as a step up. The GPS enables you to get places faster so you can be more productive and do the things you want to do without having to potentially spend time figuring out a route beforehand / getting lost. Now, what you do with your extra time after you get there is what makes the difference. You could say that part of the intellectual experience is figuring out the route, but really, if you make up for that 'lost thinking time' with intellectual activity after you reach your destination, it cancels out, or even balances in favor of using a GPS.

It's like saying cars decrease our physical fitness. Yes, they do, if you were solely relying on your 5 mile walk to work at 5 AM to maintain your fitness. Even if we use cars to get from point A to point B, that just means we have that much more time to spend in the gym making up for that 'lost fitness'.

When Texas Instruments used new technology to come out with hand held calculators, educators deplored their availability in schools, and articles came out about the declining ability of students to do basic math. The argument then was made, as it is now with GPS, that it freed up time for other tasks. The brain isn't a muscle, but it does have a metabolic rate. Tax it less, and the rate declines, just as it does for musculature. An un-taxed muscle gets flabby. My point: conceivably, the amount of freed time leads to a general decline in the brain's tolerance for taxation, and simply refuses to make put out the effort to master anything the presents difficulty.

Smart people dont know all the answers, they KNOW HOW TO GET THE ANSWERS. Thats exactly what a GPS does. If I had to know everything my mind would be stuffed, but I can easily find all the answers and make myself more productive during the process.