Map–territory relation

The map-territory relationship is like a puzzle - it is the understanding of how a map of a place relates to the actual place itself. A map is a simplified drawing of the land, while the territory is the actual land itself. For example, if you look at a map of the United States, you can see state boundaries, roads, rivers, and other features. When you look at the actual United States, though, you can see a lot more than just state boundaries - you can see buildings, towns, people, and all sorts of other things that cannot be fit onto a map. The map-territory relationship is how we understand that a map can represent something that is real, but that it cannot represent the reality of everything.