The Map is not the Terrain

A geodetic map shows terrain lines. It’s helpful if you plan to hike, bike, or ride across the land.

An Atlas (the old kind printed on paper) sections the landscape into “states” or “countries” and highlights “cities” and parks and mountains and maybe roads.

A road map sections the landscape in standard increments and highlights how to drive from here to there.

Google introduced us to the possibility of overlaying all kinds of information into a single view: property lines, roads, traffic, buildings, etc.

All of these are representations. Simulations. Approximations. None of them are real. The map is not the terrain.

The same observation applies to whatever we’re sensing in this particular moment. When you go outside and look around, your brain is making a map. It’s not a complete catalog of everything happening; it’s a highly edited representation.

Your perception of reality is a map. It’s not the terrain. You and I can see and experience the same “reality” and have entirely different understandings and convictions about what’s happening and what’s “real.”

We don’t share realities. With a little bit of effort, we can share maps.