Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 14
An Emotional Compass: Emotions on Social
Networks and a New Experience of Cities
Salvatore Iaconesi and Oriana Persico
14.1
Introduction
The map is not the territory (Korzybski
1933
).
The map is not the thing mapped (Bell
1945
).
The tale is the map that is the territory (Gaiman
2006
).
We say the map is different from the territory. But what is the territory? The territory never
gets in at all. [
] Always, the process of representation will filter it out so that the mental
world is only maps of maps, ad infinitum (Bateson
1972
).
:::
When we experience territories, we create stories. We model these stories using
mental maps, referring to one person's point of view perception of their own
world, influenced by that person's culture, background, mood and emotional state,
instantaneous goals and objectives.
If we move along the streets of my city in a rush, trying to find a certain type of
shop or building, our experience will be different than the one we would have had
if we were searching for something else.
Focus will change. We will see certain things and not notice other ones which we
would have noticed otherwise. Some things we will notice because they are familiar,
common, or because associate them to our cultures, to memories and narratives. All
this process continuously goes on as our feelings, emotions, objectives and daily
activities change, creating the tactics according to which we traverse places and
spaces, to do the things we do.
In the density of cities, this process happens for potentially millions of people
at the same time. In his “the Image of the City” (Lynch
1960
), Lynch described
