Strange Maps — July 23, 2010

A Colour Map of Utopia

“A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at”

“A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at”, said Oscar Wilde (in his 1891 essay ‘The Soul of Man Under Socialism’).

‘Utopia’ is a Greek neologism invented by the author of the eponymous satire, Thomas More, and can be translated as ‘Nowhere’. Its perfect (but fictitious) society was meant to contrast with, and consequently be a criticism of, contemporary society in early 16th century Europe.

This picture was taken from one of the first editions of the book, which is published online at the Bibliotheca Augustana, an interesting repository of Latin texts, stretching from well before Christ to the 20th century. Unfortunately, despite the lovely colours, the gothic lettering makes the text labels in this map unreadable…

Strange Maps #51

Got a strange map? Let me know at [email protected].

A pixelated image of a person in a white hoodie walking in the woods, with the person's face obscured by pixelation. The background features reddish handwritten text overlay.

Neuropsych

25 years since Columbine: We’re closer to decoding mass-shooter psychology

Public mass shooters almost always have worldviews shaped by the "3 Rs": rage, resentment, and revenge.

An edited image of elmo peeking out from a trash can, positioned among scattered multiple cartoon-like chat bubbles expressing humorous thoughts.

Thinking

Everyday Philosophy: “Is there anything wrong with trauma dumping?”

When does "oversharing" become an issue?

Bald man in casual attire sitting on a stool with a strategic diagram background in yellow.

Leadership

Adam Grant on how to identify and develop high-potential leaders

The ability to toggle between abstract and concrete thinking is a key differentiator of high-potential leaders.

A split image with a close-up of a blue eye on the left, and a classical painting of a woman resting her head on her arm on a sofa on the right.

Business

Want true success? Be more philosophical about “good” and “bad” failure.

Bob Dylan gave us the paradoxical gem "there's no success like failure, and failure's no success at all." He had a point.

Starts With A Bang

The idea that matter is mostly empty space is mostly wrong

Practically all of the matter we see and interact with is made of atoms, which are mostly empty space. Then why is reality so... solid?

Up Next

Strange Maps

49 – Czechoslovakia Threatens Germany (1934)

Another propaganda map dating from just before World War II, but this time from the Nazi-German side. One of the first victims of fascist agression was Czechoslovakia, dismembered at the […]