“A map is not the territory it represents, but, if correct, it has a similar structure to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness.” — Alfred Korzybski, Science and Sanity

The phrase was coined by Polish-American scientist and philosopher Alfred Korzybski. It describes the crucial distinction between a representation of something (the map) and the actual thing itself (the territory).

“All models are wrong, but some are useful” — George Box

When you model something, the model (in this case, the map) is necessarily simpler and less detailed. Knowing the map off by heart is not the same as having stood on the land it represents.

A map can be useful and still be incomplete — and confusing the two is how you end up arguing about the description instead of looking at the thing it describes.

Same idea, in other guises:

• The word is not the thing.
• The menu is not the meal.
• The shadows on the cave wall are not the objects that cast them.