Navigating – August Commentary

GPS (Global Positioning Systems) offers us so much information about our surroundings and position in our world.  On a recent vacation, we used the Navigate button in our Tesla to direct us efficiently to charging stations to help us reach our goal, home.  The system calculated, like an aeronautical map used in aviation, our route with points of interest, neighborhoods, and terrain.  It took a few moments as it planned our route to avoid heavy traffic, road construction, and other hazards attempting to ensure the car would have ample charge to reach the next point – charging stations and ultimately home.  As we set off, the little red chevron that represented our car began following the planned route inching from right to left across our screen traveling west, north-west.  The map was laid out in the standard position with North locked at the top.  Our little chevron traversed across the fixed screen.   I’m not fond of that traveling presentation.  So, I pressed an icon on the top of the screen and suddenly our little chevron was fixed in the center pointing up (forward) as the map turned and moved under it!  [Being simple minded, I prefer the chevron pointing the same direction as the car is traveling.]  Which way was north, south, east west?  Did I care?  Cities, roads, and the world revolved around me!  My real concern was that we were generally traveling west, north-west toward our goal, home.

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