Scott Alexander showcases and advocates for 'sentimental cartography', the art of creating geographic-style maps for non-geographic concepts, presenting various modern examples and lamenting its relative obscurity.
Longer summary
Scott Alexander discusses the art of 'sentimental cartography', which involves creating geographic-style maps of non-geographic concepts. He presents several examples of modern sentimental cartography, including his own map of the rationalist community, James Turner's Map of Humanity and Map of Love, the Atlas of Experience, Martin Vargic's maps of the Internet and Literature, and maps based on song titles and films. Scott expresses frustration at the difficulty of finding these works and the lack of a proper name for this art form. He advocates for a revival of this Renaissance-era practice, which he finds valuable and underappreciated.
Shorter summary