Maps: inaccurate representations of the world — misleading conceptions of the planet’s geography that lead to misunderstandings.
It boils down to this: maps are not the territory; they’re (distorted) reality, shaping the lives of those who study them and live by them as well as those who’ve never set eyes on them. Maps shape world politics, public opinion, policy, psychology. Maps are (mis)representational tools.
The map is not the territory, and we need not be ruled by maps. Know the territory as well as the map, the correct map, and we know ourselves, our lives and circumstances, everything that environs us — we get to discover it by taking a good look at it to appreciate it for what it is, not what someone else told us it was. Start with the exact sizes and shapes of things, and take it from there.
It makes for a life more down to Earth, if nothing else.
From your fact-loving Spin Doctor, and in conjunction with Pearl Coast,
Fish a ton of oysters, find a shiny pearl, and, above all,
Eyes open, mind sharp.