NOTE TO READER: I’m on vacation with my family this week and thus want to abstain from standard “work” rhythms. But the way Beehiiv (the host of this newsletter) works is that there’s a strong incentive to publish something every week so that you are more likely to be promoted by other newsletters.

So I’m “reposting” something I wrote back in my standup comedy days in 2019 about my relationship with Google Maps.

This has come to mind because my Older Daughter, almost 3, is currently obsessed with directions, maps, and understanding where things are. I’m impressed by her navigational savvy, and wonder if and when it will be atrophied by modern technology.

As always thanks for reading and see you next week.

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Two weeks ago, I was in a car driving back to New York City from a show in Syracuse. It was late at night, and we had traversed the dark, windy, rainy roads of upstate New York, northeast Pennsylvania, and Jersey. We had made it back to the city and were headed to the East Village, where we were going to cap the night off with some late-night ramen.

We were stopped at a light in SoHo, and the earned, tired silence of the car was suddenly punctuated by google maps telling us to turn right on Spring Street.

I got instantly annoyed. Whenever Google Maps tells me to go somewhere I already know, it cuts to the core of some sort of primal anger. This is likely because as a man, I have convinced myself that I know how directions work, and am always correct about them.

I turned off the route, and a discussion commenced about the dependency of google maps. My friend who was driving said that he was pretty sure he knew how to get from SoHo to where we wanted to go in the East Village, but that he was terrible at navigation and needed to rely on maps—indicating that this was a comfort that one would be foolish not to take advantage of.

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I got a new phone about two months ago. As I was redownloading all the apps I use, I had a moment—what if I didn’t download google maps?

It’s an app I resent using, and for my day to day life, not really necessary. So I kept it off. And I continued to keep it off, even when my wife and I went to France and Italy on our honeymoon; relying on physical maps, and physical cues. When I returned, I’ve kept it off with the exception of two circumstances—once, for the aforementioned drive to and from Syracuse, and another time, upon getting lost heading to a show last weekend in Seacaucus, New Jersey.

In that situation, there was another telling moment. Another comic friend and I had accidentally got off on bus stop too early, and were at a loss for how to get to the venue. While we stood on the side of the road pleading for our phones to tell us what to do, he said that he didn’t even know what direction was what. I didn’t exactly know either, until I realized the gargantuan buildings of Manhattan were squarely in sight, giving us a very simple indication of what what direction was what—since we were in Jersey, where Manhattan was clearly was due east.

Yet, we are no longer conditioned to think that way.

On the walk to that show, I tried to explain—somewhat poorly—why I detest being overly reliant on google maps. To me, it represents a major failure of human progress. Algorithmic maps represent the ultimate convenience, yes, but to the point where it eventually erodes competence.

While I am not a sociologist or a historian, I think it’s not a stretch to say that human beings’ navigational savvy is what undoubtedly made us the perennial favorites to win the “what species is the best at stuff?” games. Navigation—and relatedly, acute awareness of surroundings—was essential for hunting game, foraging fruit and nuts, and later, communicating and trading with other tribes and civilizations.

Maps of course, have long been a feature of our species. Yet, there's a huge difference between using something as a baseline or guide, and becoming wholly dependent on the world it creates. While physical maps are more like training wheels for your navigational awareness and memory, the algorithmic map is more like going on vacation with a parent as a kid—you’re not in charge and aren’t going to be in charge, so why pay attention at all?

Of course, WAZE and similar apps can be essential timesavers, and their benefits are abundantly clear. But when the difference of getting somewhere is a matter or minutes, are these navigational apps really providing a net benefit? Why not just to try learn the roads?

There’s something to be said about keeping this part of the human brain conditioned and in shape. For one, you never know when you may need it. But more importantly, I’d argue the relationship between ourselves and these algorithmic dictation maps represent a fundamental question about technology—are we going to use it to empower and enhance human capabilities, or are we going to let it slowly atrophy our painstakingly and diligently developed skill set?

The apps may technically get there faster, but maybe that doesn’t really matter if collectively, we have no idea where we’re going.