A useful mental model I’ve committed to memory is ‘the map is not the territory’.
The territory is everything at a 1:1 scale. For example, the city of London.
The map is an abstraction of the territory. For example, the tube diagram of the London Underground.
It’s impossible for us to remember the vast detail of the entire territory, but it’s possible for us to grasp a map.
What’s important to remember is the map is only a representation. Over-reliance on the map can lead us to form incorrect assumptions about the territory.
When we take this idea and apply it to other examples, we see it at work everywhere.
The software on our computers are just an abstraction of the zeros and ones that process and compile actions under the hood.
The organisational chart is just an abstraction of the relationships in a company, but decisions are often made within a complex web of influence.
The script is a guide for the director, but the play gets mapped out as the cast work together on the show.
The map can help show the way, but reality is almost always more complex. We shouldn’t forget that.