Image: The Longleat Hedge Maze in Wiltshire, England. Public domain.
What’s New: A different look at GPS. How using it is affecting our brains and behavior.
Why It’s Important: Technology should not be about technology. It should be about users and how it makes life better (we hope) or worse (in some ways).
What Else to Know:
- We thought this would be an interesting and entertaining change to our normal focus on tech. Hope you enjoy it and are having a great weekend!
- And yes, RNTF President Dana A. Goward contributed to this podcast.
This is your brain on GPS
GPS is essential these days. We use it for everything – from a hunter figuring out where the heck they are in the backcountry, to a delivery truck finding a grocery store, to keeping clocks in sync.
But our reliance on GPS may also be changing our brains. Old school navigation strengthens the hippocampus, and multiple studies suggest that our new reliance on satellite navigation may put us at higher risk for diseases like dementia.
In this episode, we map out how GPS took over our world – from Sputnik’s doppler effect, to the airplane crash that led to its widespread adoption – and share everyday stories of getting lost and found again.
Featuring Dana Goward, M.R. O’Connor, Christina Phillips, Michelle Liu, Julia Furukawa, and Taylor Quimby.
