I spend a considerable amount of time in London’s fine fleet of black cabs. During my 11 years in London I’ve marvelled at this unique band of men and women’s ability to navigate their way round this non-linear city and deposit me at, what often seemed to me to be, obscure destinations. The source of their internal GPS ability is commonly known as– the knowledge – a process through which all aspiring drivers are required to develop a detailed knowledge of the 25,000 streets within a six mile radius of Charing Cross, with a more general knowledge of the major arterial routes throughout the rest of London.
As I departed Paddington Station yesterday I duly informed the driver of my destination and watched him input the address to his dashboard mounted GPS system.
I wondered… is this another example of world changing technology in action? Will GPS systems sound the death knell for the "knowledge"?
And will we mourn the loss of those moments of discovery when a cabbie traverses a route that by-passes London’s arterial dullness and exposes the idiosyncratic streets you’d otherwise never witness.
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