Google Maps, the journey, and destination

The last few months have been a lot of travel in Bangalore. We are constructing a house and have been visiting vendors in and around the city. It’s mostly on weekends. My wife and I travel by car on these visits.

The city of Bangalore has become so large, there are so many layouts and areas, is just mind-boggling. These areas are not just the new ones like the 6th Stage, and 7th Stage but the old areas of Bangalore. Before we had all the fancy ring roads and other main roads, there were pipeline roads and narrow roads that connected different areas.

For some reason, Google Maps doesn’t seem to differentiate between the selection “Cars” and “Bikes”. Maybe universally, a car is considered much bigger than a bike, but in India, it is not. Or maybe Google Maps always optimizes for time. That’s a good thing, but the experience of traveling is harrowing.

If I have from Banashankari to Yeshwanthpur, I know mentally that there is a road that involves main roads. But Google Maps knows better. There is a pipeline road that connects the two areas, and it is 10 minutes faster. Do I want to take that or the one I think I know? I am saving 10 minutes, so let me try.

And so starts my adventure. I am driving in first or second gear and usually trying to avoid hitting someone or getting hit. The locals on the road don’t seem to be surprised. The roads are narrow, but I think Google Maps is diverting many people through these roads. Sometimes, I do get a feeling that this is a one way or that I should not be driving on this road at all, and cars may be prohibited. Then as if God answered my prayers, I see a bigger car — Fortuner or an Innova. It’s coming from the opposite direction — so this is not one-way. Cars (or trucks) are traveling on this road, so I am not the only one. After those two feelings of elation, I have to now figure out how we pass each other. Saturday afternoons after a heavy lunch is meant for a nap, it is not to figure out how many inches is the minimum to leave between two vehicles so that both of us can move on without getting road rage.

Or I am traveling in Malleswaram, I need to get from Sampige road to one of the parallel roads. I am bad at names and don’t remember the name of the parallel road. And Google Maps decides to take me through the Halli Mane road. Probably there is some festive lunch or so, and the road is filled with people. I keep hearing this message “There is an object on the road” from Google, but never seem to hear “There are people on the road”.

In all these Google Maps-led travel, I get from point A to B. I know where I started and where I got to. But frankly, I have no idea what roads I took. I was just concentrating on moving that one meter forward. Each meter forward was a cause for celebration. The only muscle memory that I earned was some pain in my knees with the repeated gear changes.

Google Maps is making us ever reliant on itself, we don’t converse with anyone on the paths we are going, don’t ask for directions, but go on being a stranger.

Do you know a similar thing happens with all these courses, the instructor-led tutorials. Keep going from one topic to the next. It all seems to work. I completed the entire course. But, next I face a real-world scenario where I have to figure out my way, these courses don’t seem to help at all. I seem to be looking for another course and have not found it.

The better way to learn is to start to solve a project or get to a place that I want to go to. Go to the point which I know and am aware of. Then take help from that point. You will have some muscle memory to rely on.

My wife always says this, she knows so much more :-)