Marketing, relying on that hoary old method of convincing people they have a problem where they might not, has convinced us that we are continually getting lost while driving, and we are far too busy (or dumb) to figure out where we’re going.

And the product introduced to take care of this “problem”? Why, handy GPS navigational devices, which sit on our dashboards and gently purr at us when to turn, when to stop, and exactly where we are. It’s like an old woman being the (very necessary) backseat driver for an even older man whose spirit has been broken, and tends to just do as he’s told.

Circumnavigator GPS So, if this neat little device pulls us along on its electronic leash, and we don’t get as lost as we used to, is it really a boon for us? Actually, come to think of it, did you ever get lost that much before you got a GPS? Think hard.

I used to get lost, but it was never serious, and things always worked out well in the end. And, each time I got lost, I found my way, and strengthened whatever parts of my brain handle these sorts of things.

Now, since GPS, I don’t flex my cranial cartographer’s muscles as much. One day, way before my time, I’ll be that old man taking instructions without question from a kindly, patient female voice. I’ll just be alone in the car, and about 35 years young, wondering where it all went wrong. And wondering where the hell I am anyway.

But cool technology is cool technology, and if the intrepid explorer part of my mind is atrophying, at least my map-reading skills are kept relatively sharp. Well, my map appreciation skills, maybe. They sure look cool on that little screen. And I can at least pretend that I’m some kind of Vasco da Gama for the 25th century.

I guess the end result of all this may be that soon my car will not only know where I am and where I’m going, but will drive me there without my input, avoiding other cars and obstacles via an elaborate electronic grid that controls everything. That will be good - I can take my hands off the steering wheel (if those will even exist anymore), and put them on a book to read during my travels. Maybe a Magellan biography. Whoever he was.

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