Visualization: A cognition amplifier (original) (raw)

A scientific visualization schema incorporating perceptual concepts

Scientific Visualization is the process of transforming numeric scientific data into an image or images that, when presented to a human observer, convey insight or understanding of the data. The process is often described by means of a visualization pipeline that involves the stages of transforming the data into an intermediate representation, mapping the results into graphical entities termed visualization icons and displaying them. In this paper we extend the traditional pipeline model to include two additional stages that take place within the observer: visual perception by the visual system and cognition by the human brain. We review the literature on the human visual system focusing on issues relevant to scientific visualization, such as preattentive processing and suggest a classification of visual attributes according to information accuracy, information dimension and spatial requirements. Using this schema we show how concepts from human visual perception and cognitive science are related to the visualization process and how this relationship can be utilized for creating more effective visualizations of scientific data sets.

On the Prospects for a Science of Visualization

Handbook of Human Centric Visualization, 2014

This paper explores the extent to which a scientific framework for visualization might be possible. It presents several potential parts of a framework, illustrated by application to the visualization of correlation in scatterplots. The first is an extended-vision thesis, which posits that a viewer and visualization system can be usefully considered as a single system that perceives structure in a dataset, much like "basic" vision perceives structure in the world. This characterization is then used to suggest approaches to evaluation that take advantage of techniques used in vision science. Next, an optimal-reduction thesis is presented, which posits that an optimal visualization enables the given task to be reduced to the most suitable operations in the extended system. A systematic comparison of alternative designs is then proposed, guided by what is known about perceptual mechanisms. It is shown that these elements can be extended in various ways—some even overlapping with parts of vision science. As such, a science of some kind appears possible for at least some parts of visualization. It would remain distinct from design practice, but could nevertheless assist with the design of visualizations that better engage human perception and cognition.

Scientific Visualization: Interactions, Features, Metaphors

2011

Besides these topics, participants gave valuable presentations about conceptual, philosophical and psychological questions in visualization regarding the impact and benefit of user-centered approaches, research classification and other topics. The productive setting at Dagstuhl made it possible, that a selection of ideas presented at this seminar as well as scientific results of this gathering are made available as Proceedings. We would like to thank all the participants and many thanks go to Dr. Inga Scheler for her help editing this book.

Beyond scientific visualization (panel session)

ACM SIGGRAPH 90 Panel Proceedings on - SIGGRAPH '90, 1990

The term "scientific visualization" conjures up mental images of molecules reacting or velocity vectors whizzing around. Yet, visualization is migrating beyond the scientific domain because it maps not only numerical, but all data into visual representations. This panel compares several visualization methodologies and how they have employed advanced computer graphics to map abstract information into meaningful animations and interactive software.

The Magic Science of Visualization

The visualization of information is in many respects back in the stone age, or rather the text age. WIMP GUIs just place more text on the screen and search engines use their graphic bandwidth to display advertisements, but don't help us to assimilate information faster. The snazzy engines tend to present 1D clusters in text (e.g. vivisimo.com) or add expensive 3D representations to display the traditional ten hits without their summaries (e.g. kartoo.com). In this paper we review a variety of information visualization interfaces and examine the discrepancy between the techniques used and our cognitive abilities to process visual information. We introduce a number of psychophysiologically motivated dimensions and present our analysis of how using them can speed our ability to assimilate and sift information.

Peeking Inside the Black Box: A New Kind of Scientific Visualization

Minds and Machines, 2019

Computational systems biologists create and manipulate computational models of biological systems, but they do not always have straightforward epistemic access to the content and behavioural profile of such models because of their length, coding idiosyncrasies, and formal complexity. This creates difficulties both for modellers in their research groups and for their bioscience collaborators who rely on these models. In this paper we introduce a new kind of visualization (observed in a qualitative study of a systems biology laboratory) that was developed to address just this sort of epistemic opacity. The visualization is unusual in that it depicts the dynamics and structure of a computer model instead of that model's target system, and because it is generated algorithmically. Using considerations from epistemology and aesthetics, we explore how this new kind of visualization increases scientific understanding of the content and function of computer models in systems biology to reduce epistemic opacity.