Cooper And Jeanne Compete To See Who The Better Map Folder Is [VIDEO]
During today's morning show, Jeanne and I decided to dust off our map folding skills to see who is more talented in the bygone artform. As GPS navigation on phones and in vehicles has made map usage largely extinct, Jeanne and I got talking about the last time we even used a map, which then turned to stories of people who don't know how to fold maps. Young people don't even know the struggle of dealing with an unwieldy map. Seriously.
As you can see in the video, Jeanne and I both did pretty well, considering neither of us has used a paper map in probably a decade.
As it turns out, using GPS rather relying on more involved navigation (maps, remembering directions) "turns off" part of your brain. As The Daily Mail reports, research into use of GPS navigation showed that relying on electronic directions leads to lower activity in two key parts of the brain that are used in navigation. The good news is that the research also found that switching to a form of navigation that isn't mindless (i.e. using a paper map or recalling directions from memory) brings that "sleeping" area of the brain back awake.
Challenge yourself once in awhile and exercise that brain of yours. You'll feel a little more accomplished when you get to your destination, and it might also keep you from mindlessly feeling the need to fidget with your phone while you drive.