Maps, Compasses and Lost Bearings

An imagined landscape brings the map, reference instrument and possible routes into the same view.

A map represents selected features of a place. A compass supplies a directional reference. Neither chooses the traveller's destination. Together they offer a useful vocabulary for exploring orientation, uncertainty and the relationship between a representation and the ground it describes.

This article brings together physical background, literary examples and everyday expressions. For routes themselves, see Paths and Trails; for restricted passage, see Obstructions.

Background

Maps use scale, symbols and conventions to make a place readable. A road map, a contour map and a floor plan select different information, even when they concern the same location. Ordnance Survey describes cartography as the practice of making maps and explains the roles of coordinates and projections.

A magnetic compass indicates magnetic north. True north, magnetic north and the north of a map grid are distinct references; their relationship matters when moving between a map and a compass.

• Position: where something is in relation to identifiable surroundings.
• Direction: the way something points or moves.
• Destination: the place a journey is intended to reach.
• Route: the course taken between places.
• Landmark: a recognisable feature used as a reference.

A landmark can remain visible when a route disappears. Conversely, a clearly marked route may lead somewhere the traveller does not intend to go.

Comparing spatial situations

The following comparisons describe the arrangements in the images. They are reading distinctions, rather than fixed psychological meanings.

Image	What distinguishes it
Lost bearings	The relationship between position, surroundings and direction is uncertain.
A blocked path	A route is identifiable, but passage along it is obstructed.
An outdated map	The representation and the present terrain do not agree.
Several possible routes	Alternatives are visible; the question concerns selection rather than the absence of a path.
No chosen destination	A traveller may know where they are without knowing where they want to go.

Examples in literature and culture

The Bellman's blank map

In Fit the Second of Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark (1876), the Bellman's sea map has no land or conventional markings. His crew celebrate its apparent simplicity. The episode places confidence in a representation beside its lack of useful navigational detail.

The map in Treasure Island

In Chapter VI of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, the papers recovered from the sea-chest include an island map with soundings, named features and marked locations. Directions on its reverse relate the search to particular landmarks.

Reading the contrast: Carroll's crew praise a map stripped of detail; Stevenson's characters value a map because of its particulars. The two works make productive companions without requiring either map to stand for a single universal meaning.

Idioms

• Get or find your bearings: establish your position, or become familiar with a new situation. Cambridge records both uses.
• Lose your way: become unable to follow a route, or lose a sense of purpose or direction.
• Chart a course: plan a direction or sequence of action.
• Put something on the map: bring a place or activity to wider attention.
• Go off course: depart from an intended direction.
• A moral compass: an image of the principles used to orient decisions about conduct.

Related pages

Paths and Trails | Mazes and Labyrinths | Fog and Mist | Ships | Obstructions

Browse the library

Metaphor Atlas | Subject index | Movement and transport | Idioms A-Z