The Map is Not the Territory
Alfred Korzybski · 1931
"Our mental models of reality are reductions. When the model contradicts reality, the model is wrong, not reality."
A map of Paris is not Paris. If the map perfectly replicated Paris down to every single atom, it would be the size of Paris and therefore useless. All models, by definition, must leave out details to be useful.
We navigate life using 'maps'—economic theories, political ideologies, stereotypes, and mathematical formulas. The danger occurs when we mistake the map for the territory. When a spreadsheet says a business decision makes sense, but the actual human customers hate it, the spreadsheet (the map) is wrong.
What is the primary danger described by 'The Map is Not the Territory'?
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