In Season 4, Episode 2 of The Office: Dunder Mifflin Infinity, Micheal Scott and Dwight Schrute are shown using a GPS system to navigate their way to a business meeting. Putting full faith in the machine, hilarity ensues when Micheal drives his car into a lake and he and Dwight have to scramble to save themselves and their gift baskets. Thanks to technology, road trips have become far easier than pulling out the Rand McNally Road Atlas, but there is something to be said about being able to navigate a map. Our sophomore Geography students recently spent time using maps to navigate college campuses, plan a trip in Washington D.C. and find the total mileage of a random round trip in the United States. They even learned that if you walk North a block, West a block, South a block and East a block, you’ll end up right where you started, hopefully with a story to tell. Maps are timeless and fascinating while also full of information. When used correctly they can get us safely from point A to B, when used incorrectly, maybe in a lake with Micheal and Dwight.
