Originally Posted by
NickW
What's wrong with doing that? It's just setting the map by eye; it's hardly any different from setting it by compass, which is a standard navigational technique (at least according to my training, and my copy of Mountaincraft and Leadership).
I think it's the twisting and turning of the page after reader has already worked out his/her current location and orientation that really stands out as a danger sign. It's as if the person is trying to mentally "walk through" a route and needs to keep turning that page for it to make sense ...
I wouldn't mind if it worked, but it's a strong indicator IME that the person handling the map hasn't a clue. The directions you get from the person are likely to have left and right mixed up after the first turn. The nautical chart story comes from a guy I met who wasn't happy that the chart table on a yacht was facing astern. Claimed it made it hard to think straight. His navigational abilities were *&%$. Purely anecdotal, I know ... but it's something I take as a sign of low spatial intelligence now.