As technology develops, we tend to depend less on ourselves.
Socrates, in the 5th Century BC, argued that writing would erode our memory, and he was probably right. But that was only the beginning.
The modern smartphone user delegates a remarkable amount of responsibility to it - from phone numbers to birthday reminders - and many would be quite literally lost without them.
When you do get lost, finding yourself pass the same shop again and again from different directions, where do you turn? Most likely to your that pocket-sized device, equipped with your precise GPS location and a detailed map of the entire world.
But depending on modern technology, convenient though it may be, is causing us to forget basic navigational skills that have been developed over thousands of years.
John Huth is a Professor of Science in Harvard and the author of The Lost Art of Finding our Way. Hear his interview on The Right Hook below:
Some years ago, while kayaking in the waters off Cape Cod, Huth found himself lost in a dense blanket of fog. Thankfully, before setting off, he had dutifully noted tides and winds in the area, allowing him to safely navigate back to shore.
However, two other kayakers were not so lucky. Unaware of their direction when the fog descended, they paddled away from shore and were not seen again.
Huth dedicated his book to these lost souls, and hopes that his work might save the lives of others caught in the same position.
A constant GPS beacon is undoubtedly a useful tool to have, but a drop in phone signal, a dead battery or some other malfunction is all it takes to become utterly lost.
Strategies based on environmental clues, however, have proved reliant for centuries - moss usually grows on the north-facing side of trees, just as it did 5,000 years ago.
Navigation is not a unified science - it borrows from astronomy, meteorology, oceanography and ethnography. Different cultures have developed their own unique ways of assessing direction - for example, the Vikings relied on the position of the Sun as their voyaging season was during the summer, Arabs sailors learned to tack sail against the wind, and Pacific islanders used underwater lightning and 'read waves' to navigate.
These techniques may seem like novelties nowadays, but Huth believes everyone is capable of learning navigational skills both simple and complex. And you never know when your 'novelty' skill might be the difference between life and death.
The art of finding our way has been integral to the history and development of mankind, from pre-civilisation to the first crossings of the Atlantic Ocean, and we would do well not to forget where we came from.
