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The underrated joy of asking for directions

As 21st-century travellers, most of us would prefer to turn to our phones for directions, rather than to another. And why not? There’s a risk of embarrassment on the other side. The late Lauren Berlant propounded that humans have a drive to be inconvenienced by each other. If we put down our phones, as I found, there’s a welcome culture shock: the lightness of giving up control and jumping into something better—the warmth of other humans, guiding the way.