The map isn't the territory
When I was a kid, maps fascinated me.
They were like being given god-like powers of hovering over expanses of land and exploring what was just beyond.
Maps empowered me to know what my eyes couldn’t possibly see.
And later on, this applied to other types of visually represented data, such as graphs and charts. I’d study them intently, deconstructing what the information was saying and what that meant.
These artifacts of information became the puzzle pieces with which I constructed my abstract picture of the world.
So far, so good.
But what if I pointed to the very obvious (but largely ignored) fact that a map is just a representation of a territory? A graph/chart is just a representation of data.
A map is not the territory itself.
It contains information that was chosen by someone at some point to be there. A deliberate choice — whether political, practical or other — was made to include certain elements, and exclude others.
My point isn’t that mapmakers have agendas, only that a map can never be the exact equivalent to the landscape it portrays.
If it did, it would be the same size, texture and smell as the landscape it represents. And, needless to say, that would be impossible.
So, why am I telling you this?
I’m guessing you might not care about the accuracies of a map.
But what if I asked you: what pieces of information are building your understanding of the world?
If you’re like me, you’ll say things like social media posts, news reports or podcast interviews.
But these are all just versions of the map. They convey information about a representation of reality, never reality itself.
I guess my point is this:
It’s one thing to experience the world mediated through flickering light of a device. It’s another thing entirely to experience it first-hand.
To be a human again, devoid of god-like powers, walking on our own two feet across the landscapes of our lives.
Till next time,
Ben
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