The Map is Not the Territory

In the early 1930s, scientist and philosopher Alfred Korzybski wrote an important dictum, “The map is not the territory.” He observed that we often confuse our abstractions for the territory. “We confuse models of reality with reality itself.” [wikipedia.org]

As software engineers we deal with abstractions and models all day, every day. So Korzybski’s dictum is something we should be aware of. The words we use, to describe requirements/designs/objects/etc. are not reality. They can lead us astray, and they can cause us to make poor decisions.

So how do we deal with that? First, be aware of the mental model and revisit the map (words, pictures, abstractions, etc.) to make sure it isn’t leading us astray when we are trying to figure out issues or design new solutions. Second, be careful about the words, pictures, abstractions, and other models we use to represent reality. Think ahead, about how those who find themselves trying to understand what we did in our systems, and create your maps carefully.

Image by: Tyler Webb