Knowing The map is not the territory and it’s limitations, what must I remember to read maps as accurately as possible?
Parrish (2024), The Great Mental Models (General Thinking Concepts) > The Map Is Not the Territory lists three principles to follow.
Principle 1: Reality is the ultimate update
Maps start as good representations of reality but may diverge over time. My experience of reality, or new knowledge from others, is the only way to update a map.
Principle 2: Consider the cartographer
Maps are created at a point in time, within the culture and knowledge of that time, and with the biases of the cartographer. Understanding this helps understand a map’s limits.
Principle 3: Maps can influence territories
A map made in advance of reality risks influencing the territory it is supposed to map1. Principle 1 Reality is the ultimate update is ignored putting undue trust in the map and the decisions that come from it.
Footnotes
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Similarly, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Star Trek, The Matrix and Minority Report are movies which may have influenced the later scientific inventions they describe. ↩