Maps, Territory, and Reality

I am reading It Ain't Necessarily So by David Murray, Joel Schwartz and S. Robert Lichter which examines the role of the media in creating errors in the transmission process between original research and communication to the public. They identify multiple forms of error which are committed by journalists, one of which is captioned as Don't Mistake the Map for the Territory. Don't Mistake the Map for the Territory gets at the issue that there is always reality and then there is the proxy of reality which we represent through measurement. A reported increase in crime (the map) may or may not reflect an actual increase in crime (the territory). Reasons for a reported increase that might not reflect an actual increase include a change in definitions, a change in the population being measured, an improvement in measurement techniques, etc.

Here is a very pertinent example of the importance of not mistaking the map for the territory. The maps lie: Australian scientists discover Manhattan-sized island doesn’t actually exist from The National Post.

"Sandy Island" appears on Google Maps despite not actually appearing to exist.