The Map Is Not the Territory

Morning. So I was— does anybody here know what a mental model is?

No.

Okay, mental model is kind of a complicated concept, so I thought we'd start by discussing one particular mental model, and I've put it in chat. Alana, could you read it and then we'll discuss it?

Okay, the whole thing.

Yep.

Okay. The map is not the territory. The map of reality is not reality, and even the best maps are imperfect, and that's because they are reductions of what they represent. If a map were to represent the territory with perfect fidelity, fidelity. Fidelity, it would no longer be a reduction and thus would no, would no longer be useful to us. A map can also be a snapshot of a point in time representing something that no longer exists. This is important to keep in mind as we think through problems and make better decisions.

Okay, so what, can anybody explain what they mean by the map is not the territory? Go, Alana.

I think what they mean is that the map is only showing like the outside of the territory and not what's actually inside it or on it. It's not showing everything.

Okay, can you give— well, first let's check. Sankara, did Alana make sense there? Maggot, did Alana, did Alana make sense for you?

Yes, I think.

Can you explain what Alana said in your own words? Maybe Alana, um, can you explain, could you give an example, Alana, of what you meant? Often the way I think of learning is that If I can give examples, it helps people understand. So can you try to give us an example?

Yeah, um, basically what I was saying, so if you have a map and it was leading you to something like treasure, and then you trusted the map and then you went in there, but the map didn't say everything. So let's say you ran into wolves or something. So maybe that, that shows that the map really isn't showing everything, or it's not the territory.

Got it. Uh, Sankara, did that help you a bit?

Yeah.

Do you think you can explain it in your own words?

Um, it doesn't show everything that's there.

Okay. Um, so Let's, let's go through it bit by bit. The map of reality is not reality. Um, does that make sense to you guys?

Not really.

Okay, Sankara said yes. So can you explain that sentence to Alana, Sankara?

Um, like it means like whatever you see in the map is not like all of it, like Okay, so basically, if the—

if so, if that was a map of reality, it's not really reality.

I'm tempted to help, but I'll see if you can help. Sankara, can you help explain it more? You want to think? Go ahead, Magat, can you help?

Me, I think the—

me, for me, the map of reality is not reality.

For me, it means that if you have a map, she— the map don't show all thing you need. It's— it's—

you have to—

to find all thing, all research you can doing for to find, because the map Show you the—

Go, Magat, you're doing great. Can you—

were you done?

Okay, um, so what I'm getting from what Magat is saying is that, um, let me see if I can explain it. So there's a reality. So suppose, um, I walk down to the mailbox, and that's reality. If I actually physically walk down to my mailbox, that's reality. But I could draw a piece of paper that drew this map of going down to the mailbox, but the map of going down to the mailbox is not the same as actually going down to the mailbox. Does that make sense?

Yeah.

So reality is when we do things in real life, Like right now in reality, Sankara is at his house, Magat's at his house, Alana's at her house. But we could have a map of the world which showed Alana in San Diego, Magat in Senegal, Sankara in London. And that map of where you guys are is not the same as the reality of where you guys are. Does that make sense? Yeah. Okay. And in some ways, Alana, I think it's sort of what you were talking about earlier, but using different language. I think the word reality maybe confused you. Does that seem accurate?

Yeah.

OK. Since Marwa is just joining us and we've already made some progress, I'm going to suggest that then Cara reread the whole paragraph, and then one of you explain it for Marwa. So Sankara, could you reread the whole paragraph now that Marwa's here? And hold on, let me repost it. Sometimes I think if somebody new joins, they can't see the chat. Hey Marwa, how you doing? You're muted, but you're good. I can lip read a little bit. I can't lip read perfectly, but I was able to lip read that much. Okay, Sankara, go ahead and read it.

The map is not the territory. The map of reality is not reality. Even the best maps are imperfect. That's because they are reductions of what they represent. If a map were to represent the territory with perfect fidelity, it would no longer be a reduction of reality. And thus would no longer be useful to us. A map can also be a snapshot of a point in time representing something that no longer exists. This is important to keep in mind as we think through problems and make better decisions.

All right, thank you. So Marwa, did that paragraph make any sense at all to you, or was it too confusing? You're muted and I was not able to lip read that time. Do you want to try to explain it, Marwa, or do you want help from the gang?

I don't know.

Okay, no problem. It's pretty complicated. I always like to give you guys really hard things to read. In part because I like them, but also because this helps you read really hard things. This is kind of like college-level reading, so that if you guys can learn how to read stuff that's difficult, you'll basically be knowing how to read like a college student. And so why not learn to read like a college student when you're still a kid? That's the way I think about it. Um, does that seem crazy, or is it okay to read hard stuff?

It's okay to read hard stuff.

Okay, somehow I thought you'd say so. So Marwa is confused because it's hard, and we'd already made some progress without Marwa. So do one of you want to explain what you think it's saying? Go, Ilana.

So basically what we discussed about was, so the first sentence, it was that the map didn't show everything on the territory because the map isn't reality. And then the second one Or the second sentence, we basically said that the map, even though it's telling you, or like if we drew a map from one place to the other, it's not reality because if you actually walk from that to the other, that would be reality but not the map.

Was that helpful, Marwa, or not so much?

Really confusing. Nothing.

Okay, Sankara, you want to give it a try?

Um, I think it means like that if a map isn't reality because it's, it's just a piece of paper, and for it to actually be reality, then you actually have to go to the place you want, and there might be like something that you don't know, and you can only know if you actually go there.

Was that helpful, Marwa, or not? No. Okay, Magat, do you want to give it a try to explain for Marwa? You're muted, Magat.

Uh, I think, uh, no, I, I am thinking.

OK, no problem. Go, Sankara.

Maybe because maps change all the time. So maybe that mailbox isn't where it is anymore, except on the map, it says it's still there.

And I want to check, Marwa, is Sankara helping yet?

No.

OK. So one hint that I gave in terms of explaining is to give examples. And I hear you trying to give examples. So that was kind of an example, Sankara. But when I try to explain things— and I'm not saying I always succeed. I try to give a super, super clear example. I try to help the other person get a mental model of what I'm thinking in their head by means of a very, very detailed example. So given that I think examples are a good way to explain this, can somebody try to give a very specific example that might help Marwa? Go, Sankara.

Maybe, um, like, so pretend you were going to like, um, a shop somewhere, and then like you follow a map, and then so you think it's still there because of that. So once you get there, it's not there anymore. So that means like a map isn't like real. Anything could change the place you want to go or something.

Does that help, Marwa?

No.

Okay, in which case, maybe let's keep going through it and have everybody else discuss it. And we'll see if it gradually makes sense. So even the best maps are imperfect. We've kind of implicitly talked about this, but not explicitly. And I guess I would say, Sankara, that's sort of an example, what your example was doing. Is that you were given an example of a map that had a shop in it, but the shop is no longer there, and so the map is not perfect. Would you say that, that's a good example of maps not being perfect?

Yeah.

Okay. And then the next sentence is tricky. That's because they are reductions of what they represent. What does it mean to say a map is a reduction of what it represents? Go, Sankara.

Maybe because like it's, it's smaller than the actual thing.

Okay, it's smaller than the actual thing. What were you gonna say, Lana?

Um, I was gonna say— oh, I was gonna say because I've heard the word reduction or something like that before, like it's a more simple way Or you kind of just narrowed it down to one thing.

Okay, so it could be both. It could be smaller, as Sankara says, and simpler, as Lana says. One way that I think about that is suppose you had a map of your house, and of like the floor plan of your house. And normally when I think of a map of my house, I think of something like small enough that could sit on a kitchen table. But what if you had a map of your house that was just as big as your house? Would that be helpful? Why not?

You couldn't carry it.

You couldn't carry it.

Yeah.

And even going—

And also because you already know your house. So what's the point in having that massive map in your hands?

Okay, go, Alana.

And if you live in an apartment or a condo like me, that'd be really big. Because my condo is about like 4 stories.

Yeah.

If you lived or if you were in a hotel or something, or if you lived in a mansion, that would be really hard.

Yeah, for sure. So on the one hand, we can see maybe why maps are usually smaller than the thing itself. How about simpler? So suppose if you were to draw a map of the floor plan of your house, would you include like every crack in the wall and every shelf on the wall and every picture on the wall, every piece of dust on the wall?

It depends.

Yeah, because maybe not that specific because like that'd be really hard because some specks of dust you can't really see.

So suppose somebody said, I need a map, can you give me a map to show me how to go to the bathroom in your house? And you just took a piece of paper out and drew it, um, how detailed would you be there? Go, Alana.

I'd probably draw like all the walls and then just a few lines and then to the bathroom.

Okay.

Or I just draw Wee Wee and then Boomer there.

Would you draw the windows in the house?

No, because then that, that were— if you drew the whole house that take up too much time and say that they really need, needed to go.

Okay, so what I'm seeing this, Ilana, is you were saying reduction can mean kind of simpler, um, and so in some ways, yeah, in some ways when you talk about the kind of map you draw to show somebody how to get to the bathroom in your house, it seems like a very, very simplified version of your house. Is that accurate?

Yes.

Okay, so maps are both simpler and smaller because they're reductions of what they represent. The next sentence is complicated because I think all of you had a hard time with word fidelity. Does anyone know what the word fidelity means? It means faithfulness or accurateness. So let's use the word accurate. Or accuracy. So if a map which represents a territory with perfect accuracy, it would no longer be a reduction and thus would no longer be useful to us. Why would a map with perfect accuracy no longer be useful to us? Perfect accuracy in size. Go Lana, then Senkaku.

Well, maybe if it was perfect, and this is kind of off of Sankara's prediction, like, but the map was made a really long time ago and things changed, it may still be perfect, but it's not useful.

Okay, so that's because things change. I was actually thinking of the perfect fidelity or perfect accuracy meaning size as well. So suppose, you know, I don't know if you've looked around since you're around the world, We could look at a map or a globe and we could see, oh, Alana's in San Diego, Magat's in Senegal, Sankara's in London, Marwa's in Kenya. You could look and see where it was. Suppose we had a map of the world that was as big as the world. Would that be useful?

Maybe not really, because the world or the whole world, that's just massive. And that one, that would waste a lot of trees. And two, that would take like— and that'd just be a waste of space, probably.

Yeah. And I'm thinking, suppose you're sitting there in San Diego and you have this world-size map and say, oh, this is where Marwa is in Kenya. How does the map help you find Kenya if it's just as far on the map from San Diego to Kenya as it is in reality from San Diego to Kenya? Do you kind of see the problem?

Yeah.

Go ahead, Sankara, what were you going to say?

But, and also, if it was a real exact copy, then that means that because if it was the exact copy, that's basically impossible because the tectonic plates move 1 millimeter every second.

There we go. There we go. And actually, the very next one sentence kind of gets into that. As well as your earlier shop example, Sankara, when it says a map can also be a snapshot of a point in time representing something that no longer exists. So earlier you were talking about a shop that may no longer exist. You're pointing out that even because the whole Earth is changing due to tectonic change, a map created one moment won't be exactly accurate because the Earth itself is changing. Is that kind of what you were saying, Sankara?

Yeah, but I know if you have it smaller, then I think like it's not like the same, but it's easy to— and also what Alana said, because it's like too big and you wouldn't be able to do anything because you might as well just walk to the actual place on your map.

There you go. If the map is as big as what it is, it provides you with no kind of improvement. So small and simplified is what part of what makes maps valuable. So I'm going to check in with you, Marwa. Is the map is not the territory, does that begin, is that starting to make sense or not at all still?

I don't get it.

You don't get it or you do?

I don't.

Okay. Um, so does it make sense? I'm going to work on it. So Marwa, would you say maps are different from reality? Like a map of your house is different from the reality of your house?

No.

The map— a map of your house is exactly the same as your house?

Yeah.

Um, well, that's interesting. Sankara, is the map of your house the same as the reality of your house?

No.

Why do you think Marwa thinks that?

Um, I don't know, maybe he has some really strong satellite images.

Okay, strong satellite images that are like reality. Okay, um, go ahead, Alana.

Well, if they were satellite images, for me, like, from, like, for example, on GPS, it just shows the roof and not really anything inside because it's all the way up there.

Well, and, and that strikes me as accurate. I wouldn't even look at that more closely. So with Google Earth, you can look at satellite images of your house usually. Unless, you know, for some reason it's not covered. But usually you can actually look at your house from Google Earth. Has anybody actually done that? Have you ever tried to find your home on Google Earth?

Not yet.

I even found my old house in Kenya.

It's really fun. I've done that too. I've done that, you know, Magat, we've looked with Google Earth, we've looked at Meke on Google Earth. Do you remember, Magat? We did this. We looked down on your house at Google Earth. But yeah, it's really cool. I recommend you all look at your homes on Google Earth. It's just fun. And then you can look at your neighborhoods and your schools and everywhere. And we actually could do that with each other sometime. That would be cool. But Alana, when you were saying the roof— so satellite image of the roof of your house, Is that the same as the roof of your house, or is the satellite image of the roof of your house different from the roof of your house?

Well, actually, since— wait, I think it's being updated every day or every week, right? So, but when I look on it, because I think I've done it on GPS or something like that, it looked the same but not completely the same. Like, it didn't show tiny details that I know is there.

But would you say that visual image is the same as the roof itself?

Mostly.

So you could walk on the image just like you could walk on the roof?

No, because the image is digital.

Okay, well, that goes back to the map is different from the territory, or the map is not the territory. And, you know, the image is kind of like— just like a picture of Alana is not the same as Alana, correct?

Yeah.

Okay. And even the images on the screen are not the same as us in person. So, you know, if I reach out and touch, you know, touch somebody, you're not actually feeling a touch because the images are different from the reality. So I want to check the last sentence. It claims that this is important to keep in mind as we think through problems and make better decisions. Why might it be useful to be aware of the fact that the map is not the real, not the territory? Go, Alana.

Well, if you were following something, like if you were following like a picture for a test, yeah, but you didn't think that it might have been a fake or it might have been really old, that might have been like kind of a bad decision because you might have either flunked the test because you didn't realize that that was not reality.

Okay.

Or yeah, because then you have to do it all over again, so then I'd be having to go through a problem.

Okay, um, go ahead, Sankara.

I think if there was actually a map as big as the Earth, then that would be cool because then I could just walk across to anywhere I wanted at any time.

All right, actually, um, somebody is making a virtual world that is just as big as Earth. And so in this virtual world, you could build a house in London, and if you wanted to walk across this virtual world from London to San Diego, you'd have to of course go over the oceans. It would take, you know, the same distance. And so if you want to go into a virtual world that's just as big as reality, somebody is creating that. But that's a distraction. I want to check. So I started by asking a mental model, what a mental model is. And this is a mental model: the fact that maps and reality are different, or maps and territories are different. And the reason it's a mental model is it's in your mind, kind of mental, and it's a model. That is, your brain can understand, oh, reality is different from maps, and I should keep that in mind. Does that make sense?

Yes.

Okay. How about you, Magat? How was today for you? You're muted. Is it okay? Okay. Marwa, how was today for you?

It was fine. Yeah.

Okay. Excellent. Well, we will continue to explore mental models. This is a big, huge, powerful set of ideas. So thanks for thinking about maps and territories, and we'll see you next week. Have a good week, everybody.

Bye-bye.