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Comment by Scrapemist | Hacker News Reader

Then why ask for directions in the first place?

Usually the situation is that we ask for an address, and get told directions instead.

It's always funny to me when I'm new to an area and they offer me 14 precise turns and landmarks to get to the park 2 miles away. I'm just going to plug "the park" into my maps and know precisely where it is.

Our family was heading somewhere specific in the countryside with multiple cars and our pre-GPS relatives insisted on driving as a convoy. They wanted to show us exactly where to drive instead of just agreeing on a time and a place and "see you there".

And it totally makes sense. If you don't have navigation software arriving at a specific place in a small village somewhere in the countryside where you have never been would be super stressful. They probably thought they are doing us a solid by leading us there.

Another reason for convoy driving is so when one car breaks down, the crew of the other will A) know about it, and B) be there to help. Used to be more relevant in the days of less reliable car and no mobile phones.

> I'm just going to plug "the park" into my maps and know precisely where it is.

No you won't. "Your maps" will know where it is, but not you.

What, are we being pointlessly pedantic today? Maps don't "know" anything, they're computer programs that run on your phone.

> What, are we being pointlessly pedantic today?

Being pedantic is never pointless.

> Maps don't "know" anything, they're computer programs that run on your phone.

True. So OK, should have used one more set of quotes: "Your maps" will "know" where it is, but not you.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Being pedantic is pointless by definition. If you want people to take you seriously you should ignore the small, irrelevant details instead of just being annoying.

Nobody asked.

> Nobody asked.

> > I do tend to be aware of the cardinal directions and can generally point them out with reasonable accuracy when asked.

[Emphasis added]

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