Paper maps vs. digital

[bikkuri bahn]

Interesting article on the benefits of paper media wrt maps.  I include this because I find this is also true with railway schedules.

Fair use quote:

Quote

When you live in a place, or you want to travel meaningfully, deep knowledge of the geography will help you to navigate it and to understand its culture and history. Print maps help you acquire deep knowledge faster and more efficiently. In experiments, people who read on paper consistently demonstrate better reading comprehension than people who read the same material on a screen. A 2013 study showed that, as a person’s geographic skill increases, so does their preference for paper maps.

link:

https://www.citylab.com/design/2019/01/paper-maps-digital-navigation-google/581092/

Edited February 13, 2019 by bikkuri bahn

[railsquid]

Wow, how come this is not totally obvious to everyone?

 

Digital maps are certainly very useful, but nothing beats a nice biggish piece of paper which gives an overview without distractions.

 

It worries me to think people are becoming solely dependent on what a computer or satnav tells them.

[cteno4]

Don’t get me started... 

 

jeff

[katoftw]

I love paper maps also. But digital is normally free and has a massive library.

[chadbag]

Paper maps are cool.  Digital maps are convenient.   You can zoom out of a digital map to get context and zoom in for details.  I don't really miss having paper maps on a regular basis, though when we go places, we usually grab the free maps and use those to get around (city, transit, amusement park).

[maihama eki]

I collect paper maps.  I like the big picture view that they provide.

 

However, my smart phone takes me to places I could never find on a paper map.  My wife and I were outside a small soba restaurant in Tokyo last fall waiting for a table and discussing this.  I found the place online and my phone led us there, blocks from the train station, down a narrow, nondescript street with (almost) only private residences on it to this tiny place with only a minimal Kanji sign outside that we couldn't read.  We would have never been able to find that place without GPS and the digital map accessible from my phone.

[Socimi]

I prefer paper maps as they're often more practical and straightfoward when going around.

I actually use both types, for example i plan the visit to a foreign city from home with a digital map and once there i'll start going around using a paper map.

A great advantage of paper maps over digital ones is that you cant take notes on the map, something that's very difficult (and for most cases) impossible to do on a phone.

 

When visiting specific locations (such as museums or landmarks) the above two are superfluous: all i need to know is the station closest to my hotel or apartment and the closest subway station to the place i'm going to visit (and here either paper or digital maps are good).

 From there i can use street signs, altough in some cases (if the location is far away from the station or there are no signs because it isn't very known) i am forced to go back to digital maps and navigators.

 

[JR 500系]

Reading a paper map is also a very useful skill ~ Before technology, reading a paper map accurately was one of the skills we had to do during our army training... It sorts of sets our orientation mindset and sharpens our sense of direction ~

 

With technology now, everything is done with fingers... 

[marknewton]

i love paper maps. They're not only useful but they're often attractive artefacts as well. I have a small collection of Japanese railway maps, all of which have a distinctive graphic style. This map of the Tokyo tramway network pre-WW2 is one of my favourites:

 

 

Even more attractive is this map, which is done in a birds-eye view style which was obviously popular at one time. Ive seen a number of Japanese railway maps presented in this style:

 

 

On the reverse side of the map is a map and a travel guide:

 

 

And the cover/front page:

 

 

Does anyone know what city or railway this map describes? I've also got this map/guide, which folds out to a ridiculous size:

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mark.

 

[miyakoji]

Mark, I think the fourth image is Hirosaki Castle.  The 'hi' in that cursive hiragana, or whatever it is, differs a bit from the current conventional form; I can't read the third kana as 'sa' at all.

 

edit: yeah I totally missed the third image which says Hirosaki in kanji.

 

recommendation: read the wikipedia page for Hirosaki at home, that is, not at work, as their city emblem is easily confused with the symbol of a particular 30s/40s fascist government

Edited February 15, 2019 by miyakoji

[marknewton]

Thanks Miyakoji - I see what you mean about the city's emblem!

 

Funny that the map turns out to be of Hirosaki. I've been looking closely at the Konan Tetsudo's Owani line, in particular the terminus at Chuo-Hirosaki. And yet I still didnt realise where the map was.

 

All the best,

 

Mark.