still rely on radio technology developed in the 1940s , technologically less advanced yet much safer for the application .
Using mobile navigational tools has become second nature . Finding a restaurant , place of business , or a friends new house , just one of the many applications for such devices . There ’ s no problem with this , yet , when travelling could this be reducing some of the experience ?
Prior to electronic navigation travellers would prepare , think about logistics , consult maps , even memorise certain aspects of the route . Spatial navigation is now being replaced by technology , a skill that we may have had since the dawn of human evolution . Many anthropologists suggest that this is the point when we became human and when the brain started storing memories that weren ’ t entirely instinct based .
Research shows that as we age we will lose certain aspects of our memory . Yes , it can be a sign of ‘ purely getting old ’. Those undertaking the research also show that exercising the hippocampus , the area of the brain that retains navigational memories , is one way of aging successfully by stimulating the brain through continued mental activity .
In becoming reliant on technology , such as navigational aids , we have stepped from being active travellers to passive followers . It has caused a deficiency in being able to make decisions and is losing the ability to make mental maps . Our brain health is deteriorating as we rely more on technology to prepare and plan travel for us , removing the individual from real world experience . As humans evolved so did our senses , sight became dominant however , auditory , feel and even smell senses also evolved in a way that we were able to use all together to build memory maps of our surrounds . We also began to reason that becoming lost wasn ’ t nearly as bad as it is considered in modern humans . Lost was a way to explore , to discover , to learn . Those skills remain yet are diminishing very quickly .
Visual clues often lead the way , as do sounds and smells . In the dark of night , we can recognise certain aspects that give a hint to location , the sounds of seagulls or the smell of salt indicating we are close to the ocean . Unfortunately research has shown that those who are increasingly more reliant on technology for navigation
‘ switch off ’ these inherent skills to concentrate on the ‘ blue line ’ of a navigation device .
Maps were the first step in technological advances that aided the adventurous traveller . Such navigational devices were used as far back as 20,000 years however ,
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