MapQuest is great and all, but I think relying 100% on technology and not learning at least basic map reading skills is a mistake. This is just like the old "I don't need to know math because the cash register will tell me what change to give" argument. If you don't know how to read a map, will you have a sense that the service is telling you the right thing (just like if you type something into the cash register wrong, will you know intuitively that there is a mistake)? What if you are on a trip and you want to make a detour from your printed itinerary (assuming you don't have an nav system in the car)? What if you are just in one place and want to get to another and don't currently have the technology available? There are dozens of examples where this is ill-advised, but the bottom line for me is that I don't want my whole life to be subservient to machines (not to mention the fact that I happen to love maps).

I also have a friend who doesn't think he needs to learn navigation for sailing because he can just use a nav system. My question to him: don't you at least think it would be useful to know how to read a chart in case your nav system goes down? Now of course if you're lost at sea you can't just stop at the nearest gas station for directions, but still...