Writing a Thesis: The Map Metaphor

Writing a thesis is like creating a map. You have to rely on people who know how to make maps, but you cannot let them tell you your map is correct because they do not--and should not at some point--know the terrain as well as you. They may think the map should look a certain way, but you are the one living in the terrain you're mapping. And the only way to work on the map is to live in the terrain and walk its hills, swim its lakes, sleep in its forests. You might need to redraw, but you never know you will until you've found your own map to come up short.