I actually think that has been going on longer than GPS.

@HippieChick58 I guess most people are just not interested in Geography. My late partner would look at a road map and not know which way to hold it. All she would see were lines. Once she started to travel she got to love the world map (especially Italy). However, a former partner was alcoholic. She looked at the map of Seattle and instantly knew her way around (it has a definite special layout). She was an expert at giving directions from a map. I later found out this was common among alcoholics because they often want to change where they are living and maps are critical to them.

@JackPedigo I am familiar with the layout of Seattle, or I was. I lived in the area.... wow the two year old I moved there with is now 27. I loved Seattle. I worked with maps in the Army and have always loved maps. My grandfather used to keep an atlas handy, and when he'd hear news stories he'd look up the area. We used to track our travels for each of our kids in the Road Atlases, one for each girl. That got to be just way too much work!

@HippieChick58 I wonder if your training got you interested in maps or your interest led you to work with maps. Sounds like you being around them instilled the interest. Come to think of it my dad once got my mother a fancy globe light. We were always looking at this globe to find places.

I took some map reading courses in scouting and often drive long distances. I am not an expert but certainly can find my location. However, I am sometimes dyslexic in how to get from point A to B and often turn the wrong way. Even on foot I can and do get lost. I can look at a map and understand how to get to a certain place but making the right turns are what trips me up.

I wonder if the map problem is more pronounced with women or men or equal. Men are supposed to have a better spatial sense. Perhaps I need to look that up before making another wrong turn.

@JackPedigo I have left right confusion, I do better if you just point. When I'm in a building I have no idea which way any direction is, unless I am familiar enough to know where I am. My current is office, I'm right by a window facing south. Last office, no such luck, I was always lost. L/R confusion seems to be genetically linked, my mom and paternal grandmother both had it. It made drilling in the Army challenging. I wore a ring on the right hand, Ring/right is how I dealt with it. I think my grandfathers influence was big in getting me interested in maps. When I am out for walks I have my phone with GPS and an app called MapMyWalk. That and I usually plan out my route ahead of time. In the car when I go to unfamiliar places I use Google Maps.