the global positioning system is a marvel of human engineering, no doubt at that. however i really wish it would not exist. my personal beef with the gps is sucks the fun out of the exploration. i owned a smartphone for about a year before i threw it away so i do have some experience with gps and navigation. in those days whenever i wanted to go to any place, i just simply put in the destination into the device and then followed the path it devised. rather than looking up and learning about my environment, i was looking down to my phone, following the arrow and only looked up occasionally to check which street i have to turn onto. basically i felt that my phone reduced me to a mindless drone. i was completely fine before the gps, never felt that i was missing it but after the phone ditch event i felt some withdrawal effect from it. i was even a bit afraid to venture outside just because i might get lost. however i feel much happier without it. whenever i want to go to a place i have not been yet, i have to plan ahead. i have to study the map. i have to learn about large landmarks that can guide my path. i can perhaps walk through the path virtually through a street view application. i even draw myself a minimap just in case i do not remember all the details. then i can execute the journey. during the journey i am very attentive to my environment. i am sort of in the csíkszentmihályi like flow where my mind is quietly alert and focused on one thing. i am also very confident because i know what i expect at every corner. and when i successfully get to my journey i am quite happy that i planned well and managed to execute that plan successfully. or maybe i feel happy because of the flow state i was in for long time. so having no gps, makes my life more fun.