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53:
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Today abstraction is no longer that of the map, the double, the mirror, or the concept. Simulation is no longer that of a territory, a referential being or substance. It is the generation by models of a real without origin or reality: A hyperreal. The territory no longer precedes the map, nor does it
501:
Widely attributed to Alan Watts, "The menu is not the meal" may be an unrecorded quote, or it may be a paraphrase derived from two recorded quotes: 1) "Money simply represents wealth in rather the same way that the menu represents the dinner." 2) "e confuse the world as it is with . . . the world as
302:
We say the map is different from the territory. But what is the territory? Operationally, somebody went out with a retina or a measuring stick and made representations which were then put on paper. What is on the paper map is a representation of what was in the retinal representation of the man who
311:
Bateson further explored this in "The
Cybernetics of 'Self': A Theory of Alcoholism" (1971), arguing that a map's usefulness lies in its structural analogy to the territory, rather than its literal truthfulness. For example, even a cultural belief in colds being caused by spirits can function
176:
The phrase "A map is not the territory" was first introduced by Alfred
Korzybski in his 1931 paper "A Non-Aristotelian System and Its Necessity for Rigour in Mathematics and Physics," presented at a meeting of the
160:—that is, how and why they are important, what to do about them, and how to live with them properly. The point is not that all maps are useless; rather, the point is simply to maintain
502:
it is described. . . . And when we are not aware of ourselves except in a symbolic way, we’re not related to ourselves at all. We are like people eating menus instead of dinners."
298:, argued that understanding a territory is inherently limited by the sensory channels used to perceive it. He described the "map" of reality as an imperfect representation:
303:
made the map... The territory never gets in at all. Always, the process of representation will filter it out so that the mental world is only maps of maps,
178:
98:
derived from something, or a reaction to it, is not the thing itself. Korzybski held that many people do confuse maps with territories, that is, confuse
90:
is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone confuses the semantics of a term with what it represents. Polish-American scientist and philosopher
758:
552:
527:
430:
17:
165:
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about the discrepancies: whether or not they are either negligible or significant in each context, how to reduce them (thus
353:
survive it. It is nevertheless the map that precedes the territory—precession of simulacra—that engenders the territory.
68:
The indicatrices demonstrate the difference between the 3D world as seen from space and 2D projections of its surface.
778:
673:
481:
389:
773:
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remarked that "the map is not the territory" and that "the word is not the thing", encapsulating his view that an
242:
argued that all media representations, including electronic media, are abstractions or "extensions" of reality.
122:
251:
156:" is that "all models are wrong (but some are useful)," which emphasizes the proper framing of recognizing
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379:
294:
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for the related phrase, "the map is not the thing mapped." In the article, Korzybski states that "A map
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466:
220:
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261:
548:
523:
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224:(1893), describes a fictional map with a scale of "a mile to the mile," which proves impractical.
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414:
210:
142:
323:(2006), highlighting how overly detailed models can become impractical, a problem also known as
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The relationship has also been expressed in other terms, such as "the model is not the data", "
41:
331:
summarized this idea: "Everything simple is false. Everything which is complex is unusable."
441:
753:
743:
738:
616:
369:
364:
348:, Baudrillard argues that in the modern age, simulations precede and even replace reality:
214:, which depicts a pipe with the caption, "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" ("This is not a pipe").
153:
110:
8:
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633:
Science and Sanity: An
Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics
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579:
Science and Sanity. An
Introduction to Non-Aristotelian Systems and General Semantics
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161:
126:
103:
602:
573:
335:
274:
246:
239:
190:
99:
91:
205:
648:
606:
577:
289:
650:
Visual
Intelligence: Perception, Image, and Manipulation in Visual Communication
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316:
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The concept has been illustrated in various cultural works. Belgian surrealist
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168:
a map, or any other model, to become a better version of itself), and so on.
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404:
384:
266:
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117:'s "The menu is not the meal." The concept is thus quite relevant throughout
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277:, who critiques the confusion of conceptual maps with reality in his book
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461:
228:
similarly references a map as large as the territory in his short story "
182:
95:
636:. International Non-Aristotelian Library Publishing Company. p. 58.
582:. The International Non-Aristotelian Library Pub. Co. pp. 747–761.
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effectively as a "map" for public health, analogous to germ theory.
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is the relationship between an object and a representation of that
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27:
Relationship between an object and a representation of that object
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per se (or absence thereof). Its avatars are thus encountered in
82:, as in the relation between a geographical territory and a
102:
of reality with reality itself. These ideas are crucial to
83:
245:
The idea has influenced several modern works, including
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the territory it represents, but, if correct, it has a
344:
further complicates the map-territory distinction. In
201:
to the territory, which accounts for its usefulness."
179:
730:
269:. The concept is also discussed in the work of
44:viewed on a sphere: all are identical circles.
716:Dot, Dot, Dot: Infinity Plus God Equals Folly
279:Dot, Dot, Dot: Infinity Plus God Equals Folly
431:On the Content and Object of Presentations
629:
572:
189:(1933). Korzybski credits mathematician
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14:
759:Concepts in the philosophy of language
731:
646:
601:
319:addresses the theme of accuracy in
88:Mistaking the map for the territory
24:
551:. alanwatts.org. 31 October 2022.
526:. alanwatts.org. 31 October 2022.
208:explored the idea in his painting
25:
790:
592:Korzybski, Alfred (1933), p. 247.
549:"Not What Should Be, But What Is"
482:When a white horse is not a horse
390:Fallacy of misplaced concreteness
334:The rise of electronic media and
106:, a system Korzybski originated.
149:, and many other applications.
125:regardless of any connection to
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34:
708:
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682:
555:from the original on 2023-12-09
530:from the original on 2023-10-03
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265:, the latter of which won the
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1:
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690:Lila: An Inquiry into Morals
252:Lila: An Inquiry into Morals
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380:Direct and indirect realism
357:
295:Steps to an Ecology of Mind
232:" (1946). In his 1964 book
10:
795:
714:Lindsay, James A. (2013).
664:McLuhan, Marshall (1964).
630:Korzybski, Alfred (1933).
524:"Intelligent Mindlessness"
467:Symbolism (disambiguation)
221:Sylvie and Bruno Concluded
171:
62:with Tissot's indicatrices
703:The Map and the Territory
653:. SUNY Press. p. 15.
647:Barry, Ann Marie (1997).
375:Blind men and an elephant
262:The Map and the Territory
185:, and later reprinted in
158:map–territory differences
779:Criticism of rationalism
488:
437:Philosophy of perception
346:Simulacra and Simulation
230:On Exactitude in Science
774:Conceptual distinctions
769:Philosophical analogies
477:Use–mention distinction
472:Unintended consequences
457:Structural differential
447:Signified and signifier
415:Mind projection fallacy
211:The Treachery of Images
143:business administration
718:, Fareham: Onus Books.
452:Social constructionism
425:Non-Aristotelian logic
355:
309:
76:map–territory relation
18:Map-territory relation
701:Houellebecq, Michel.
442:Reification (fallacy)
350:
300:
42:Tissot's indicatrices
692:(1991), pp. 363–364.
617:Williams and Wilkins
370:Allegory of the cave
365:All models are wrong
154:all models are wrong
152:A frequent coda to "
111:all models are wrong
666:Understanding Media
321:Elements of Justice
292:, in his 1972 work
271:Robert Anton Wilson
235:Understanding Media
60:Behrmann projection
688:Pirsig, Robert M.
400:Knowledge argument
257:Michel Houellebecq
187:Science and Sanity
749:Consensus reality
603:Bell, Eric Temple
574:Korzybski, Alfred
226:Jorge Luis Borges
199:similar structure
162:critical thinking
127:general semantics
104:general semantics
100:conceptual models
16:(Redirected from
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336:Jean Baudrillard
325:Bonini's paradox
275:James A. Lindsay
247:Robert M. Pirsig
240:Marshall McLuhan
191:Eric Temple Bell
123:applied ontology
92:Alfred Korzybski
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619:. p. 138.
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338:'s concept of
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238:, philosopher
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405:Ludic fallacy
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557:. Retrieved
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532:. Retrieved
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410:Mental model
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315:Philosopher
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305:ad infinitum
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754:Dichotomies
744:Cartography
739:Abstraction
462:Surrogation
329:Paul Valéry
183:New Orleans
96:abstraction
733:Categories
608:Numerology
559:2024-03-12
534:2024-03-12
510:References
420:Nominalism
285:Commentary
135:statistics
115:Alan Watts
764:Semantics
613:Baltimore
341:simulacra
259:'s novel
166:iterating
147:semiotics
139:logistics
131:semantics
605:(1933).
576:(1933).
553:Archived
528:Archived
358:See also
119:ontology
705:(2010).
327:. Poet
172:History
113:", and
86:of it.
672:
195:is not
80:object
489:Notes
218:, in
670:ISBN
273:and
255:and
121:and
74:The
58:The
249:'s
181:in
84:map
735::
615::
611:.
281:.
145:,
141:,
137:,
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678:.
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307:.
20:)
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