The Friday Fillip: Maps

It helps to have a set of “just so” stories, in order that we can find, grasp and share data somewhat more easily. The Roman alphabet is one such “story,” for example. Almost everyone can recite it, so we can hunt through an alphabetized list of words quite swiftly. And I guess in a way our numbers are another handy “accepted structure” for managing information in the world, so accepted in fact that they seem to be a part of the world rather than a construct. These and other like inventions can be compared to maps, which, after all, are graphical ways of organizing information. Yes, a map of the world shows a real world, but just as a given number of things are not the things themselves neither is a map the territory, as Alfred Korzybski famously remarked.

A map can be, though, a useful armature on which to hang data; and because most of us have internalized the rough shapes of a world map, the data can be effectively ordered by all manner of facets that the world behind the map actually has, such as climate or population or history. This is what’s happening in the “Forty Maps that Explain the World,” a collection published recently by the Washington Post. The map below is typical:

As you see, everything is coloured in fully and nothing is coloured outside the lines.

That said — viz. the map is not the territory — there’s some fun to be had with these 40 abstractions and a bit of learning as well. I was suitably impressed by Map 24, showing population density in Asia as compared to the rest of the world, and irked by Map 31 showing the world’s 26 remaining monarchies because it misunderstood that Queen Elizabeth II is in fact Canada’s head of state. Speaking of Canada, I have to say that we generally fared well, when a map was used for comparisons.

You might also take a look at the video that has the Washington Post author explaining some of the maps and some of the weaknesses of the data (e.g. in India a question about “race” was translated into the Hindi word for “caste,” a different matter):

Then there is another site, Twisted Sifter, also offering 40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World. These have a somewhat less serious intent overall, perhaps. Those that might appeal to a Friday Fillip reader? Map 1: Where Google Street View is Available; Map 18: World Map of Earthquakes Since 1898 (and wow can you ever see the Pacific “ring of fire” clearly); or perhaps Map 39: Showing Literal Chinese Translations for European Country Names (I have no real way to judge the accuracy of this; as a matter of interest, though, France becomes Lawland — go figure).