I was reading today one thrilling story about a guy who drove somewhere off-road and the storm suddenly started approaching him, so he checked with the map and found a dirt road marked with a dotted line that was going to lead him to the highway exit. And when he reached the "road" he saw a tunnel instead. A tunnel not for the cars to drive inside. So he needed to drive all the way back, which meant that he would be caught by the storm right there, in the dirt.
I had many similar situations. Not all of them are frightening. Except that one time, crossing Dead Valley at night when the gas tank was practically empty. There was another one, very terrifically misleading by Google Maps. Maybe I'll write someday about it. Anyway, with some other service, I had a problem planning my bike route when seemingly a nice road was blocked by serious gates. And once, instead of a bridge, it was not even a road, but just pipes crossing the river.
But then I've read his earlier message. Surprise-surprise, the story was about his experience from the video game. I would write a reply, but I don't like to bother people with my weird observations if they don't follow me. So, before retelling this story from my perspective, I checked that he was not following me. It would be odd to read something similar that you just wrote, wouldn't it? So yeah, I did that creepy thing, but let's go back to maps.
I liked maps since I was a little kid. I liked them because some of them show a way to a hidden treasure. But mainly because my parents worked with maps, and I always saw them busy drawing intricate lines on white canvases. Yeah, I was lucky to experience the map-making process before the digital era. It was meticulous work with ink pens. In my room, I had a map taking one full wall. Literally one wall, from the floor to the ceiling. It was a very detailed map of the region where I lived.
So, I liked maps, and I liked to study them. I mean, examine them. First, you take a look at the legend. It's a list of everything you can find on the map. My favorite things to look for were waterfalls, wellsprings, and bridges. Then, when you know the symbol depicting an object of your interest, you start looking for it on the map. It's like searching for Waldo, except they are real objects. If you want, you can go and see that object in reality.
This is the end of my sentimental note. A note conveying that even with such a long relationship with maps, I find myself very frustrated when maps trick me. And it is always electronic maps that are guilty.
No surprise why I recently have read a book about cartographers.