A computer doesn’t have to be an extension of Skynet for it to try to mess with you. Consider:
Travelers warned not to rely only on GPS
Where we learn that a Canadian couple relied on GPS to lead them from Boise, Idaho to Jackpot, Nevada. The wife was discovered 48 days later surviving on bits of trail mix and snow; the husband has been missing since March 22.
GPS-based mapping is only as good as the map it’s based on. And sometimes… maps suck. I’ve seen maps that were quite clear that There Is A Good Road Here, when in fact it was a dirt trail that a camel would balk at.
And it’s hardly rare:
SatNav danger revealed: Navigation device blamed for causing 300,000 crashes
Hell, it even makes for entertaining commercials:
[youtube tZXM_g3mqew]
Come ON, people. It’s sensible to assume that your co-workers are mere seconds from trying to stab you in the back. You know that your boss is looking for a way to screw you over. The government wants nothing more than to ruin your life. So why assume that the GPS machine has your best interests at heart? It doesn’t. It wants to kill you.
UPDATE: From THIS news article, it looks like the Canucks were trying to get from Boise to Jackpot via Mountain City, Nevada. Wikipedia calls Mountain City a “ghost town.” Apparently there are forest roads that lead from Mountain City to Jackpot, but even Google Maps does not suggest them, but instead says to bop on down the road to Elko Nevada and then turn around back north towards Jackpot:
5 Responses to “Common Sense Alert: Don’t Trust The Machines”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
I wouldn’t say your GPS wants you to crash. More like it doesn’t care, the better to lure you into a false sense of security.
I checked the map. Jackpot, Nevada is on a US highway. Getting there from Boise requires about one left turn total.
Jackpot is also *right* across the border from Idaho. As in “slightly less than one mile.” How someone could get desperately lost in Nevada when travelling from Boise to Jackpot is something of a mystery to me, as not only does there appear to be no faster route from Boise to Jackpot than following the main roads… there doesn’t appear to be *any* route from Boise to Jackpot except for the main roads.
However, there’s another news article specifically about the search that would seem to indicate that there was something else that they put their faith in, historically even more untrustworthy than GPS:
http://www.theprovince.com/news/Searchers+comb+Nevada+wilderness+missing/4782083/story.html
As a (attempted) Christian, I think I’m on sound theological ground when I say, ” God helps those who help themselves.” He gave you your wits. Use them! Who wants to have the interview with Saint Peter and have him say, “That was really dumb, and tantamount to suicide. You go to Hell!”?
Way to go Scott, how will I get sacrifices now?
“Turn at the junction of the Aylesbury pike just beyond Dean’s Corners—You are now in Dunwich”
There is a pastiche in this…