UX word of the day: exocentric frame of reference

Exocentric frame of reference| exo-sen-tric • fray-m • of • ref-urr-ence

1. : refers to a form of representing space where space is referenced according to the world view. In such a representation, North is always facing forward.
2. : in an exocentric frame of reference, the three dimensions are east-west, north-south, and (again) up-down.

Paper maps have to have an exocentric frame of reference because they cannot update live. Having North as a reference point helps the user deal with the static nature of the map as they can rotate the map themselves using a compass.

Paper maps are helped by an exocentric frame of reference as users can use a compass to align the map with their viewpoint