how to lie with maps

Manmonier .M., (1996) .How To Lie With Maps. 2^nd ed. London: University of Chicago Press Ltd.

Chapter 1 Page 1.

Not only is it easy to lie with maps, its essential. A map must distort reality. To avoid hiding critical information in a fog of detail, the map must offer a selective, incomplete view of reality. To present a useful and truthful picture, an accurate map must tell white lies.

i never gave thiis much thought before.

Because most map users willingly tolerate white lies on maps, its not difficult for maps also to tell more serious lies.

yes, i agree it would

Map users seldom, if ever, question these authorities, and they often fail to appreciate the map’s power as a tool of deliberate falsification or subtle propaganda.

umm ! did not realise they were used like this.

Page 2

Because of advances in low-cost computer graphics, inadvertent yet serious cartographic lies can appear respectable and accurate.

A single map is but one of an indefinitely large number of maps that might be produced for the same situation or from the same data.

quite interesting thought.

Maps, like speeches and paintings, are authored collections of information and also are subject to distortions arising from ignorance, greed, ideological blindness, or malice.

Page 3 A careless or Machiavellian choice of colours can confuse or mislead.

interesting. I dont think of maps as having lots of colour.

Chapter 2 page 5

Maps have three basic attributes: scale, projection, and symbolization. Each element is a source of distortion. As a group, they describe the essence of the map’s possibilities and limitations. No one can use maps or make maps safely and effectively without understanding map scales, map projections, and map symbols.

yes, this needs to be understood to aid reading.

Chapter 3 page 25

A good map tells a multitude of little white lies; it suppresses truth to help the user see what needs to be seen. Reality is three-dimensional, rich in detail, and far too factual to allow a complete yet uncluttered two-dimensional graphic scale model. Indeed, a map that did not generalize would be useless. But the value of a map depends on how well its generalized geometry and generalized content reflect a chosen aspect of reality.