The Map is not the Territory

Hello and good morning!

I write this in a hotel room in Atlanta quietly as Liam still sleeps. 

He is exhausted from a beautiful wedding we came here to attend yesterday. 

My cousin Eitan was getting married and we were fortunate to make a weekend boy’s trip out of it. 

Picture of us below both wearing ties, a rare sight! 

Last week I shared a deeply personal insight abut where it seems I have done my best work, in person with brilliant people.

This week, I want to stay in that room and push further. 

I have been exploring the concept of “The Map is not the Territory.” 

And it has provided much clarity for myself.

So I thought I’d share it here.

The concept of The Map is not the Territory is used to illustrate that reality and/or our human experience includes a lot more data than what we are able to capture, process and understand in our human minds. 

In order to make any sense of our lives we create maps or mental models that represent pretty much about everything.

But our mental models, frameworks or maps are only a much simplified version of reality.

Therefore, each individual has, at least, a slightly different map about everything in their minds. 

And in many cases, radically different!

That’s why, for example, one person might come out of a meeting having experienced something very different from a colleague who attended the exact same meeting!

I believe this applies not only to mental models about our individual experience, but also shared maps like organizational structures, business processes automation, analytics, economics, politics, taste, et al.

If you think about it, most territories are themselves evolving and shifting over time.

I hope you can make the connection between this idea and the power of meeting folks to do important, impactful work, in person.

Non-verbal cues play a critical role in helping us understand each others’ maps.

And it is only when that happens, that our minds are truly able to meet.

👇

⚡ Quick Hits

• 📱 Google tests “Ambient You 3.0” adaptive interface for Pixel devices Phones are learning to match the real context you’re in, not the one designers predicted.
  → read more

• 🏢 Microsoft announces “Process Mining Copilot” to identify drift between designed workflows and actual employee behavior The org chart is a map; work-as-done is the territory and enterprises are finally measuring the gap.
  → read more

• 🧬 OpenAI researchers publish new findings on AI-generated enzymes outperforming human-designed ones Biology continues to reveal territories our scientific maps didn’t anticipate.
  → read more

• 🧠 New Harvard study shows “shared experience divergence” increases under remote work Even when we believe we aligned on a topic, our internal maps drift, especially without physical presence.
  → read more 

🛠 Tool

Mem AI calls itself an AI Thought Partner, but what it really does is help you externalize the mental map you’re carrying around all day.

You can throw ideas, meetings, links, half-finished thoughts, or quick voice notes into it and Mem quietly organizes everything for you.

The magic is how it surfaces related context exactly when you need it, revealing patterns you didn’t know were there.

It’s like having a second mind that remembers the territory more faithfully than your own.

If you’re navigating complex work, juggling multiple threads, or trying to make sense of fast-moving decisions, Mem becomes a lightweight companion that keeps your thinking grounded.

→ https://get.mem.ai/

🪨 The Pebble

I want you to think about this deeply, carefully and make a bold choice for yourself here…

What’s one conversation you could have this week that helps align two different maps?

📊 Poll

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Weekly reflections on the human side of technology. Fresh thinking at the edge of work, AI, and life.

[#29] 🙏 Starting this week feeling grateful. Thank you for reading my thoughts.

Have a great week everyone, and happy Thanksgiving 🦃