Not only must maps project the curved reality of three-dimensional temporality into a flat two-dimensional plan, they must also use graphic symbols to differentiate features. There are two levels of critique that one can bring against mapsı falsification. The first level, epistemological, is the realization that to portray meaningful relationships for a complex, three-dimensional world a map must distort reality. The second, ideological, level of critique is that the mapıs "fibbing" goes beyond such necessary fabrications. Far from being straightforward visual texts, maps also contain political elements that must be read with care.