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Comment by reitanqild | Hacker News Reader

I liked the story because I absolutely love arguing with people who will tell me to trust the map over the terrain. :-|

What does "trust the map over the terrain" mean?

when the map tells you one thing, and your eyes tell you another thing, go with what your eyes tell you, because the map is full of shit.

you would be surprised how often people trust "the map" more than reality. "the map" can be anything, i.e. an instruction manual, an authority figure, folklore, a rumor, whatever.

I'd stop and get a third opinion --- because sometimes my eyes are lying.

one more beer, please

> go with what your eyes tell you,

but your eyes are also part of the map…

Except if you're a pilot flying in low visibility. Then you trust the map, not the terrain (mainly as the terrain is invisible). VFR vs. IFR and all that.

SO your point is that you trust the map only when there's no other option.

In that case your eyes are telling you that they can't see anything and you need to use the map.

Eyes still win!

My dad's friend destroyed film he took of his wedding like that. He developed it himself, water felt hot to his finger but thermometer showed it right. He cooked it.. thermometer was broken. His wife was not amused!

http://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/The_map_is_not_the_territory

Ah, ok. Thanks.

Reminded me of thinking about what if you targeted a laser on a map and it burned physical terrain.

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