Re: GPS recommendation please

Granville West wrote:

Your choice but as you sneer at the rest of us ponder a moment why
you are in such a small minority on this ng.

The probable reason why a majority on this ng, consider a GPS
worthwhile is because they are "computer literate" and like
computerised toys:-)

Actually it's not. Rewind a few years (check Google groups) and you'll find
that there was a lot of resistance to GPS here not all that long ago. The
reason why opinion has swayed in favour of GPS is because most people here
have now seen the light and discovered that they really are bloody useful
and reliable after all.

What makes the difference is actually using one. Almost without exception,
the criticisms come from people who don't own one and are happy with their
traditional nav skills. Such people tend to be resistant to change (we are
creatures of habit after all) and perhaps they can't afford one or don't
like the thought of spending that much money on a navigational device, so
they invent reasons to criticise it, reasons which seem perfectly reasonable
to someone who's never used one, but often quite ludicrous to those that do.

I'd suggest GPS usage are in the minority when hillwalking in the UK,

I'd agree with that, because most hill-walkers who aren't in contact with
large numbers of others probably don't have the opportunity to discuss the
pros and cons in as much detail as we do here. I've often met walkers
who've noticed my GPS and said "Oh, you've got one of those GPS thingies,
I've often wondered about those, what are they like?" So it seems to me
that the average walker doesn't actually know that much about them.
Information takes a lot longer to spread to people who aren't yet "online".

especially with the more experienced walkers who do not contribute to
this ng;-)

Yes, I see the smiley, but there are plenty of experienced walkers on this
ng who managed perfectly well for many years without a GPS (myself
included), but most of them now seem to own one for some reason. I wonder
what that could be? Peer pressure perhaps? Or maybe they've finally
accepted how bloody useful they are?

I've certainly seen over many years the advertising hype
about having a GPS for wayfaring in the UK. Not needed and the
situation has not change, nor has the landscape.

Do you need a car? What's wrong with a horse? Do you need a TV? What's
wrong with radio? Do you need a telephone? etc, etc...

What makes you think you need a map and compass? I spent the first few
years of my walking "career" without them. My idea of route planning was to
drive into the hills, pick a summit and say "let's climb that". Who needs a
map for that? I ascribed to the "exploration" school of walking, always
wondering what was around the next corner. If maps didn't exist I'd
probably have started carrying a piece of paper and a pencil after a while,
to draw my own. Dense forestry? All added to the fun. I even had to
resort to marking junctions with stones and twigs to find my way back. Map
and compass was for wimps!

How on earth did stone age man get around without the Ordnance Survey?

Fact is, there's very little in this world that humans actually need, but
humans aren't driven by need, we're driven by wants. And what's wrong with
wants when we can have what we want? They all add to the pleasure of our
lives, and that's what humans really want most of all, isn't it? Pleasure?

If it makes you happy to have a GPS, buy one, if it makes you happy to
navigate with compass, do that instead, but don't give me all that crap
about "needs". We don't "need" to go out walking in the first place.
Boots, waterproofs, rucksacks, tents, etc. They're all optional, all
designed to add to our walking pleasure, we don't really need any of them.
I've climbed mountains in trainers without carrying a rucksack. I've been
soaked walking without waterproofs, I've "camped" without a tent. None of
these things has killed me yet. It's all optional.

And yes, the situation *has* changed, as it's always changing. New
technology appears and humans choose to use it instead of older, less
efficient, less effective methods, which quickly become antiquated. This is
how progress works, it's always been this way. Progress isn't going to stop
just because a few Luddites decide they like things the way they are and
don't want to change. Many people are resistant to change, but change
happens anyway in spite of them, and most of them get used to it eventually.
I'm sure those who drove a horse and cart said similar things about cars
when they first appeared.

When TV first appeared my grandmother insisted that she'd never watch it,
preferring her radio instead. Later she refused to switch from black and
white to colour. She ended up addicted to TV and never listened to the
radio again.

It wasn't that long ago that serious photographers scoffed at digital. I
was one of them. Nowadays most professionals couldn't do without it. Of
course there's still a strong die-hard contingent, mainly in the medium and
large format fields, but most of the die-hards seem to be enthusiastic
amateurs rather than working professionals, who need a more efficient
workflow. Just like radio, film will probably never die out completely, but
the majority won't use it.

Fact: GPS exists. Therefore people will use it. We're still in the early
stages of the transition, but it won't be that long before the compass users
will be the ones getting the funny looks, and young walkers will stop to ask
"Oh you've got one of those compass thingies, I've often wondered about
those, what are they like?"

Paul


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Relevant Pages

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