# Map Vs Territory > Empiricism and Reality Checking. Prioritizing runtime truth over documentation. Use when debugging discrepancies, validating APIs, or when code comments might be outdated. Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/map-vs-territory` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/map-vs-territory` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/map-vs-territory/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/map-vs-territory --- # Map vs. Territory (The Reality Check) > "The map is not the territory." - Alfred Korzybski ## When to Use * **Debugging:** When "it should work" but doesn't. * **Integration:** When using 3rd party APIs or libraries. * **Legacy Code:** When comments don't match the code. ## The Protocol: The Reality Check Do not trust the Map (Docs, Comments, Variable Names). Trust the Territory (Logs, Memory, Disk, Network). ### 1. The Doubt Identify the "Map" you are relying on. * *"The comment says this function returns a User."* * *"The variable is named `isValid`."* * *"The API docs say it returns 200 OK."* ### 2. The Probe Active verify the Territory. > [!IMPORTANT] > **DO NOT READ CODE. RUN CODE.** > Reading code is reading the Map. Running code is touching the Territory. * *Action:* `print(type(user))` -> Is it actually a User object? or a Dict? or None? * *Action:* `console.log(isValid)` -> Is it `true`? `1`? `"true"`? * *Action:* Inspect the raw HTTP body. > [!TIP] > **Fallback:** If you cannot run code directly, ask the user to run it and report the output. ### 3. The Update If Map $\neq$ Territory, **The Map is Wrong.** * Update the docs/comments. * Rename the variable (`isValid` -> `shouldBeValid`). * Fix the mental model. --- > Converted and distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io/claim/calvyntwh) — claim your Tome and manage your conversions.