The Map is not the Territory
A truism does not a scientific discipline make.
I last mentioned A. E. van Vogt’s Null-A novels a long time ago, noting the phrase “the map is not the territory”, which is a key concept of the Null-A universe.
The phrase is actually a quote from Alfred Korzybski, in his book Science and Sanity, which formed the foundation for the school of thought known as General Semantics.
Described by its proponents as ‘a scientifically empirical approach to cognition and problem solving’, by non-proponents as a ‘self-help system’, and by critics as ‘having pseudoscientific aspects’, General Semantics survives today mainly in its influence on other movements, such as the pseudo-scientific Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), and in science fiction from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, including not only van Vogt, but others such as Robert A. Heinlein, Frank Herbert, and Samuel R. Delaney.
The idea, of course, is to avoid the trap of mistaking an abstraction of something for the actual object. This can be worded in other ways, such as ‘the menu is not the meal’, or ‘the model is not the data’, but Korzybski’s version seems particularly pithy.
But it’s not new. I touched on it recently, in describing the Diamond Sutra. It’s also a key theme in the Matrix. It is simply a way of approaching the study of semantics. I would guess that this is where the pseudoscience came into General Semantics – as part of the group’s effort to establish their area of interest as a distinct ‘field’ of study.
Which, of course, brings us to maps and territory.
It’s a mistake to take anything Donald Trump says seriously – it’s mostly a combination of lies, bluster, trolling, and delusion.
Take his promise to give out $5000 cheques to everyone - but only if the Republicans win both the House and the Senate. He’s simply lying, but you can now find endless pieces talking about whether it is legal (it’s not), or a bribe (it is), or whether he can do it (he can’t), or what the impact would be on the US economy (catastrophic), or various other questions, which are ultimately pointless. He was lying. Next topic.
What about the ‘naming dispute’ around Lake Ontario?
Trolling. Nothing more.
But there’s an executive order (EO)!
So, what? Ultimately, just another bit of rubbish Trump is leaving in his wake. Another bit of bullshit dropped into the news cycle. Another bit of trolling, intended to get a reaction.
Sadly, Doug Ford gave him the sort of reaction he wanted, while Prime Minister Carney responded by pointing out that the name predates both Canada and the US. He simply allowed Trump to make himself look stupid, while remaining calm and professional.
Which brings us to mapping apps.
Google and Apple have been closely associated with Trump since he got back in office. Both contributed to his campaign and/or inaugural fund and contributed to the so-called ‘ballroom’, though it’s unclear whether they are getting what they bargained for. While Trump’s demolition of the US economy certainly hurts them as well, they may have decided that supporting the kleptocracy was safer for them in the longer-term.
But the response to the Lake Ontario EO has been fascinating, and Josh Johnson summarizes things very nicely. Both Google and Apple have chosen to comply with Trump’s wishes, and have updated their mapping apps to show ‘Lake America’, likely deciding that “It’s not worth it to fight Trump over something so stupid”, as one tech lobbyist said. They have also claimed that they use ‘official’ sources for naming, so the name changes would be automatic, once the government systems are updated.
And then there’s MapQuest.
They are the OG mapping tool, dating from 1996. Anyone who remembers that time will recognize the logo and will probably remember using printed directions.
People may also remember their mockery of Trump ‘renaming’ the Gulf of Mexico, but it seems different this time. Various articles describe the massive spike in new downloads and usage of the MapQuest app, and usually include some mention of the fact that many are astonished that the tool still exists.
Maybe it’s because people are now utterly fed up with the insanity of Trump’s second term, or the spreading fascism, or the Iran war, or the endless crimes committed by ICE, or explosive diarrhea, or gas prices, or the Gaza genocide, or a dozen other things.
But, whatever the cause, people seem to be starting to take action against the companies supporting him. It may seem a small thing, but the best way to get the attention of a business is to threaten their revenue. Now, of course, MapQuest is not going to replace Google or Apple Maps, and will certainly not be putting Google or Apple out of business, but I wonder if it’s a sign of things to come – where people start to boycott companies which support Trump and other criminals.
I’ve installed MapQuest and am finding it sufficient for most of my needs – I’m at least happy to give it a chance for a while, especially over companies actively supporting fascism. And I really appreciate the retro graphics for the non-map components – strong nostalgia!
‘Don’t be evil’ used to be Google’s motto – maybe people can convince them that abandoning it was a mistake.
I hope so.
Cheers!
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