Posted on 02/13/2019 8:57:19 PM PST by Rebelbase
Full title: Mankind has lost the art of map reading, says the man who INVENTED GPS: Bradford Parkinson says world is 'too dependent' on smartphones that are vulnerable to failure
The inventor of GPS has lamented that people are unable to read maps because they are now 'too dependent' on using their smartphones or sat-nav devices.
Bradford Parkinson, the pioneer inventor of the navigation system relied upon by billions of people, said that he 'worries' about what impact its failure could have.
Professor Parkinson received the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering in London last night for his key role in developing the Global Positioning System or GPS, along with the rest of his team: Professor James Spilker, Jr, Hugo Fruehauf, and Richard Schwartz.
They originally began working on the system in the 1970s as a military project but were unaware of the revolutionary impact it would have on wider society.
GPS signal is made by a network of around 30 spacecraft in orbit that transmit positional information and precise timing to receivers around the globe.
It helps cars, trucks, planes, ships and trains to navigate as well as providing a timing reference for the financial industry.
Professor Parkinson said that many of the tasks it performs were not anticipated when it was created but that it is vulnerable to failure, the Times reports.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
GPS is a great tool.
Ever try to navigate through London with a map on you lap?
Most dangerous thing in the field is a 2nd Lt with a map and a compass.
Have you read the owners manual? Just asking.
AAA still gives away free folding maps if you are a member
Horse back.
But for what it's worth, I very seldom use a map since I already know how to get to wherever I want to go.......
Col Brad Parkenson USAF
Trail to Fourth Lake, over Boulder Pass, stay in the green and head south, cross over Boundary just east of area marked as such, follow water down to SE corner of map.
As a 35+ year backpacker who doesn’t do rope I’ve found the areas where the elevation lines are widest are the way to go. Not the shortest, but less chance of becoming “cliffed out”. YMMV
Not me, I love maps. I collect old ones. Works of art.
I can read maps, what’s GPS?
The one is a Lowrance hook 5 or something like that, the other I don’t know.
They don’t come with a owners manual, that is too old fashioned I’m told. The owners manual is build in, IF you could find it!!
Not only can I read maps...I can also tell time on an analog clock and figure sales tax and tip amounts without a calculator.
“...transmit positional information and precise timing to receivers around the globe.”
GPS also provides elevation above mean sea level.
Where online are they?
I don’t even carry a cell phone. Glance at Atlas before I leave and drive to where ever. I can even add and subtract in my head and multiply 3 digit numbers too. Walk and chew gum too.
Course I’m an old man of 70 that went to a Catholic school where they actually taught you stuff.
When GPS first came out it was great, but in the Navy we were still required to dual plot.
Previously whether using Loran or another electronic nav system the precision was such that you had to do sightings during transit of certain locations.
GPS was precise enough that we didn’t really have to do that. But the assumption was that we would lose the ability during a conflict, so we still had to do visual sightings and learn celestial navigation.
It’s been over 20 years now. I’m guessing the triangulations are still a part, but that celestial nav has been lost. I’m not even sure if they do REFTRA (refresher training) which really stressed the ship’s complement to find every possible point of operational failure and where improvement could occur.
Probably the case. Still there should be a menu layout on the net. Might search for it and see what comes up. Also, does it have speech recognition? Easy way to get to the menu if it does.
I started competitive orienteering when I was 12 and stayed active in the sport through college up to my commissioning. As a 2LT, I made a fool of a lot of people who bought into that trope.
Are we driving or taking a canoe?
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