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type0 · 2021-01-19 02:00:25+00:00

Just ask yourself - what's the difference between a map and a landscape.

TeMPOraL | karma 106045 | avg karma 3.04 · | 2021-01-19 17:34:39+00:00

That's the core of the question, isn't it? When does the map become the landscape?

392 | karma 78 | avg karma 1.08 · | 2024-01-09 17:31:34

The map is not the terrain.

atoav | karma 17844 | avg karma 3.79 · | 2024-06-24 06:53:24

In the end, if you want the map to represent the landscape 100% you end up with another landscape.

Granted. But engineering is about making sure we don't make mistakes and just like in math class a good way to assure that is to take two different paths and arrive at the same place.

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ethanbond | karma 13235 | avg karma 3.16 · | 2023-11-16 10:08:09

The terrain isn't even the terrain! That's still just a map of lower level terrain.

RandomLensman | karma 2182 | avg karma 1.12 · | 2023-11-16 05:44:53

And sometimes you actually have to deal with terrain as such, not any map.

goldenkey | karma 2244 | avg karma 0.68 · | 2020-09-05 19:12:00+00:00

The Model vs The Map

xanderlewis | karma 1339 | avg karma 2.05 · | 2023-11-27 10:26:33

Of course there’s a distinction between a map and the thing it’s a map of. But they’re both parts of reality.

netcan | karma 15606 | avg karma 3.16 · | 2020-10-31 23:14:32+00:00

Can we avoid confusing map with terrain?

Our minds don't seem to naturally make as much of a distinction between abstraction and manifestation as we do.

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verisimi | karma 346 | avg karma 0.18 · | 2023-11-16 03:57:51

The map is not the terrain. Any map, coarse grained or fine grained has its place, they maybe be useful. But neither are actually the terrain. Even software models aren't the real thing.

jakemal | karma 368 | avg karma 3.15 · | 2019-12-12 17:27:12

A map that doesn't capture all information about an area doesn't make it not a map.

nomel | karma 8158 | avg karma 2.06 · | 2023-01-26 17:46:17

True. Maps only work if there’s uniquely, unambiguously, identifiable terrain, that’s well understood from looking at the, necessarily, topographical map.

dr_dshiv | karma 8773 | avg karma 2.26 · | 2024-06-19 14:04:29

“The map is not the territory” — but maybe the territory is maps all the way down.

passion__desire | karma 634 | avg karma 1.0 · | 2023-02-14 03:41:11

Map vs Territory

cytzol | karma 2811 | avg karma 8.92 · | 2016-04-29 12:49:59

And sometimes you want a different type of map...

jakemal | karma 368 | avg karma 3.15 · | 2019-12-12 17:29:51+00:00

It isn't a requirement for a map to capture all characteristics of an area to be considered a map.

Vaenae | karma 2 | avg karma 0.5 · | 2016-05-19 12:53:39+00:00

The map is not the territory. But that doesn't mean that maps can't be useful.

smsm42 | karma 17167 | avg karma 2.28 · | 2023-06-18 18:46:07

True, the map is not the territory. But finding oneself in unfamiliar territory, having a map is better than having none.

Wohlf | karma 1445 | avg karma 3.08 · | 2021-05-05 20:27:08+00:00

You say 'did you look at a map' but have you looked at a topographical map? I don't see much room that isn't either protected forests or the Appalachian mountains, in some cases it's both.

toasterlovin | karma 4624 | avg karma 1.92 · | 2018-11-02 05:36:17+00:00

Disagree, FWIW. Knowing how the land is shaped and what’s on it helps me navigate much better. Green things on the map that don’t correspond to green things in the environment are not super useful to me.