The ecological approach to text visualization (1999)
| Venue: | Journal of the American Society for Information Science |
| Citations: | 40 - 0 self |
BibTeX
@ARTICLE{Wise99theecological,
author = {James A. Wise},
title = {The ecological approach to text visualization},
journal = {Journal of the American Society for Information Science},
year = {1999},
volume = {50},
pages = {1224--1233}
}
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Abstract
“Words and rocks contain a language that follows a syntax of splits and ruptures. Look at any word long enough and you will see it open up into...a terrain of particles, each containing its own void... ” Robert Smithson (1996) This article presents both theoretical and technical bases on which to build a ‘‘science of text visualization.’’ These conceptually produce ‘‘the ecological approach,’’ which is rooted in ecological and evolutionary psychology. The basic idea is that humans are genetically selected from their species history to perceptually interpret certain informational aspects of natural environments. If information from text documents is visually spatialized in a manner conformal with these predilections, its meaningful interpretation to the user of a text visualization system becomes relatively intuitive and accurate. The SPIRE text visualization system, which images information from free text documents as natural terrains, serves as an example of the ‘‘ecological approach’’ in its visual metaphor, its text analysis, and its spatializing procedures. This article both formalizes Smithson’s evocative prose and responds to Steven Eick’s recent challenge (Eick, l997) to proceed to a real “science of information visualization.” It describes the theoretical rationale and technical basis of
