# People who haven't learned a common skill **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150 "2011-06-11T20:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![MrSquishy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@MrSquishy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSquishy)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150/161 "2011-06-16T18:33:28Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > I think the most succinct explanation I can give to my preference is, I always want to know my heading and location relative to everything that’s around me, and when using track up I lose my sense of where I am relative to everything else. > [@panache45](#): > > This is the main reason why I don’t use GPS in my car . . . except in rare cases when a map is ambiguous. I can’t stand being unaware of the context I’m in. > [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > This is something I have trouble understanding. I almost never know my heading in terms of north south east west. I can’t understand why not knowing that would bother anybody. > > Mr. Neville sometimes tries to pull the “turn south” thing on me, but I immediately say, “is that left, or right?”. I only know north or south if I’m getting onto an interstate. To me, North Up is superior because if I’m in an unfamiliar area, I want to get a sense in my mind of where everything is. As \*\*Balthasar \*\*and **Panache** mentioned, if you don’t have an understanding of the context, you’ll never be able to get rid of the GPS. I can’t get that context with Track Up, so while Track Up is probably easier for following directions, I use North Up because then eventually I’ll be able to get around without the GPS. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-havent-learned-a-common-skill/585150.md?page=8)