Ideograms in Polyscopic Modeling

Dino KarabegDepartment of Informatics

University of Oslodino@ifi.uio.no

Der Denker gleicht sehr dem Zeichner, der alleZusammenhänge nachzeichnen will.

(A thinker is very much like a draughtsman whoseaim it is to represent all the interrelationships be-tween things.)

— Ludwig Wittgenstein

Abstract

We argue that the task of representing interrelationships be-tween things requires the use of visual techniques. Our com-mon verbal factual approaches to information tend to misssomething essential – the "perspective". In the article the per-spective is defined and explained with the help of a visual tech-nique, the ideograms. It is shown that ideograms can be usedfor expressing and correcting the perspective. Methodologi-cally, the article is an introduction to ideograms as an infor-mation design technique. Eight applications of ideograms arediscussed.

Introduction

Information is not only a collection of verbal facts, or in anycase it should not be that. We show that verbal factual inform-ing lacks something essential – the "perspective", as we callit. By using a visual technique – the ideograms – we are ableto define the perspective, explain why it is lacking in verbalfactual information and express it a variety of situations.

We also discuss a closely related theme, the role of art ininforming. At present, science and art are two strictly dividedrealms of culture, while informing is restricted to describingdaily events and separated from both. Polyscopic modeling [2]is a non-traditional approach to informing in which the orien-tations and methods of science and art are combined, adaptedand made applicable to any issue. We point to several essen-tial functions that ideograms – an artistic technique – fulfill inpolyscopic modeling. We show that ideograms complementverbal factual information.

From the technical point of view, this article is an intro-duction to ideograms and their use in information design. Thearticle is a continuation of [3] where the scientific usage ofideograms in polyscopic modeling is explained. Here we focuson ideograms as an artistic technique and discuss the artisticapproach and criteria in informing.

The article is structured as two parallel narratives. Eachof the eight sections of the article presents an example of anideogram. Those examples demonstrate various functions thatideograms can perform in information design. At the sametime, each of the ideograms conveys a message. Taken to-gether, those messages compose a coherent narrative aboutthe polyscopic modeling approach to information design [1],showing why ideograms are needed in that approach, explain-ing how art and science are combined and why such combina-tion is natural and necessary.

Each ideogram is explained in terms of three notes. TheEx-planation is a discussion of the graphic form of the ideogramfrom which the message of the ideogram follows. TheUsagehighlights the specific function of ideograms that the ideogramrepresents. TheMessageis an approximate verbal interpreta-tion of the meaning of the ideogram. When an ideogram hasmore than one possible interpretation we use the interpretationthat suits our narrative.

1. Depicting abstract ideas

Figure 1. Yin-Yang ideogram.

1.1. Explanation

The circle is a universal symbol of the whole. "Yin" and"yang" are generic names for two polar opposites. In a nar-rower sense, they denote light and darkness. The Yin-Yangideogram (see Figure 1) suggests that every whole has a visi-ble and an obscure aspect.

1.2. Usage

Ideograms depict and symbolize abstract ideas, giving thembody and shape so that we can see them, grasp them, talk aboutthem and relate to them emotionally. The Yin-Yang ideogramsymbolizes the idea of a whole as consisting of a bright and ashadow side.

1.3. Message

The message of the yin-yang ideogram is that every wholehas a visible and a hidden aspect. Human judgment is deceivedby seeing only what is apparent, considering that as the wholeand making conclusions based on such limited vision. Wisdommeans conscious striving to uncover what is subtle and hiddenin order to complete, balance and correct the understanding ofthe whole.

2. Ideographic concept definitions

Figure 2. Perspective ideogram.

2.1. Explanation

In the Perspective ideogram (see Figure 2) light is used asa metaphor for information. When the light of information iscarefully pointed and shined upon some whole (represented bythe Yin-Yang symbol) then whatever was hidden or obscurebecomes visible and transparent. The whole appears beforeour eyes in correct shape and proportions.

2.2. Usage

Ideograms are a useful tool for defining abstract concept.Analogies with physical objects and situations, which can eas-ily be expressed by pictures, allow us to apply insights froma familiar context in an unfamiliar one. In this example theconcept "perspective" is defined with the help of an ideogramby alluding to the etymological meaning of the word "perspec-tive" which is "seeing through". The relationship between in-formation and perspective is explained. It is suggested that theperspective is a natural purpose of informing, as illuminatingwhat is hidden is the natural purpose of a flashlight.

2.3. Message

The "perspective" means making a subject or an issue trans-parent, depicting its correct shape and proportions, allowingnothing that is essential to remain obscure or hidden and mak-ing the function, size and relative importance of each of itsconstituent elements obvious.

3. Comparing abstract concepts

Figure 3. Factual truth and perspective.

3.1. Explanation

The ideogram in Figure 3 further explains the meaning ofthe perspective by comparing it to another concept which has asimilar function. The perspective is represented by the circle.The point represents an isolated fact and the corresponding ori-entation in informing. The symbol that connects them signifiesdistinction or contrast. It is suggested that while perspectiveand factual truth both serve as criteria for evaluating informa-tion, they are in many respects different or complementary toone another.

3.2. Usage

Contrast can be naturally expressed by ideograms. Theideogram in this example expresses a contrasting relationshipsbetween two abstract concepts. The relationship between theperspective and the factual truth - two epistemological orien-tations - is contrasted by depicting the one as a circle and theother one as a point. The difference between the perspective

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as a wholistic notion of truth and the reduced and disembodiedfactual truth is visually suggested by the contrast between thecorresponding geometrical figures.

3.3. Message

As the orientation shared by both science and media inform-ing, factual truth is the dominant criterion used in informing.In polyscopic modeling, the perspective is one of the four crite-ria which together refine, complement and replace factual truthas the exclusive criterion.

The Factual Truth and Perspective ideogram depicts the dif-ferences between perspective and factual truth. Factual truth isthe truth reduced to a point – i.e. to a fact which must be eithertrue or false. Perspective, on the other hand, is the wholisticnotion of truth which requires representing the correct outlookof the whole. Factual truth allows us to isolate a detail from thewhole. The perspective requires that we see the whole in cor-rect shape and proportions and that we understand each detailin terms of the whole it belongs to. Factual truth demands pre-cision. Perspective allows us to round off, generalize and ap-proximate when that serves clarity and insight. When we judgeaccording to factual truth, every piece of information seemsuseful. According to the perspective criterion, massive factualinformation may even be considered harmful, if its volume ob-scures the perspective.

Factual truth and perspective as criteria give rise to two verydifferent, complementary approaches to informing. Factual in-forming requires that we remain in the light of existing relied-upon specializations and methods and deal with only those is-sues that can be understood with relative or supposed certainty.The perspective as criterion encourages us to use all availablemeans in order to penetrate through what is hidden and obscureas well as we can.

Factual truth as criterion naturally leads to separation of artand science. When science is guided by factual truth alone ittends to extract the part from the whole and study it in isolationin order to produce a fact. Art, having no purpose in so con-ceived informing, turns to producing "fiction" and completelyseparates from science and from informing. When, on the otherhand, the perspective criterion is used, then the demand to ex-press the true image of the whole makes art indispensable.

Factual truth leads to specialization. Oriented towards fac-tual truth, the sciences tend to specialize and produce factualknowledge in restricted areas. Perspective leads to unifica-tion. It demands that we put the facts together and produceintegrated, wholistic knowledge.

Figure 4. Perspective lost.

4. Ideographic proofs

4.1. Explanation

The Perspective Lost ideogram (see Figure 4) is a distortedhuman figure whose organs (eyes, nose, ears etc.) representfacts and whose over-all shape represents the perspective. Bymaking some pieces larger and others smaller and by shift-ing their relative positions, one can distort the human figureas much as desired – turn a beauty into a monster or vice versa.By leaving out some details it is possible to do even more –change a human figure into something which does not even re-motely resemble a human. It is suggested that the perspectivecan be arbitrarily distorted without violating the factual truth.Factual truth does not at all guarantee that we will be told whatsomething is really like. The perspective, a complementary andindependent criterion, must also be used.

4.2. Usage

Ideograms can be helpful in proving a point or justifying astatement. In the present example the need for the perspectivecriterion is justified by an ideogram. The added touch of humoris appropriate: The incongruity of a seemingly sound practice(exclusive use of factual truth) is made obvious by depicting itin terms of an incongruous image.

4.3. Message

Even when all the facts (nose, eyes, ears etc.) are in place,something essential may still be missing: The whole thing (itsoutlook, condition and meaning). Furthermore, factual truthdoes not subsume a complete knowledge of facts. Without vi-olating the factual truth the outlook of the whole – the perspec-tive – may be distorted to an arbitrarily large degree.

We rely upon factual truth as criterion because of the im-pression of rigor, precision and certainty it affords. But with-out the perspective to give them the correct meaning and shape,

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facts can be arbitrarily deceptive. Based on factual truth alone,our ideas of anything, even of ourselves, may be as disfiguredas the creature in the ideogram.

5. Correcting the perspective

Figure 5. Perspective of well-being.

5.1. Explanation

The ideogram in Figure 5 is a contour of a human whosetongue and stomach are depicted respectively as yin and yangor the visible and the hidden. The yin and the yang in theideogram are conspicuously out of balance: The tongue is a lotsmaller than the stomach. It is suggested that although well-being (understood loosely as pleasure, happiness or whateverelse the reader may attribute to the term) appears to be a re-sult of direct sensory stimulation (represented by the tongue),it is in fact far more dependent on nourishment and cultivation(represented by the stomach).

5.2. Usage

As visual images, ideograms can easily express what verbalfacts cannot – the outlook of the whole. This example showshow an ideogram can be used for correcting a distorted per-spective. The perspective shown by the ideogram is naturallydistorted by a limitation of our senses: We feel the taste of foodand we tend to judge the foods accordingly. But such "naive"judgment de-emphasizes nutrition, which is the true purpose ofeating.

5.3. Message

The direct message of the ideogram is about physical nour-ishment. The ideogram suggests that the subtle but lasting ef-fects of food that materialize gradually in the darkness of our

interior are more important than the obvious and immediate ef-fect felt by the tongue. Metaphorically, however, the ideogramreflects upon a much larger issue than nutrition – our culturalorientation.

Guided by the naive criteria (such as whether somethingfeels attractive) we tend to ignore the hidden and long-term ef-fects of our choices. Naive choice is not only natural; it is alsopromoted by advertising. But as even a well-tasting meal canbe poisonous, so can seemingly pleasant things in general havea variety of unwanted consequences. By bringing the impor-tance of the hidden aspect to our attention, the ideogram helpsus correct the naive perspective.

Our sensory perception has been tuned by evolution to serveus under natural conditions. The more civilized our living con-ditions are, the less we can rely on sensory guidance. It is nowpossible to produce "junk food" which satisfies the taste butfails to provide the nutrition. It does not seem too far fetched togeneralize and talk also about the possibility of junk entertain-ment, junk information etc. Obviously, our sensory perceptioncan be deceived by technological means. We now depend onexplicit information to orient our choices.

6. Depicting a gestalt

Figure 6. Information design challenge.

6.1. Explanation

The Information Design Challenge ideogram (see Figure6) depicts the modern culture as a bus and its informing asthe headlights of the bus which are traditional candles. Theideogram evokes a number of rather obvious associations: Ourpresent informing is suited to preindustrial information tech-nology and preindustrial role of information. Information nowhas a new role: Steering the technology. That new role requiresa very different perspective from the one which is provided bythe existing narrowly focused informing. A technologically ad-vanced culture with traditional informing is dysfunctional and

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dangerous. But the situation can be remedied by designing aninforming methodology which suit the culture.

6.2. Usage

The main message of the Information Design Challengeideogram is an "appropriate gestalt". An appropriate gestaltis a way of perceiving a situation which is appropriate to thesituation. An appropriate gestalt points to appropriate action.In the present case, the suggested action is to develop an in-forming which suits the needs of the culture.

In the modern world, the gestalt information is essential:The dangers which our preindustrial ancestors needed to re-spond to were usually obvious; the appropriate responses wereeither instinctive or learned. But now our typical dangers andopportunities are new and invisible, hidden in the complexstructure of the global economy and culture. We are facingthe challenge of designing an informing which can make thosedangers and opportunities seem as real to us as wolves and for-est fires were to our ancestors, and which can make the rightcourse of action equally obvious. Ideograms with metaphoricalimages are a natural means to that end.

6.3. Message

Our culture has changed radically, but our approach to in-forming has remained in essence the same as it was before theIndustrial Revolution. To our traditional ancestors, the normsand customs of the tradition provided the recipies for handlingmost situations. But the traditional recipes no longer work inthe modern world. Informing now has a new role – steeringthe technologically advanced culture by orienting our choices.Traditional informing did not need to fulfill that role. It is there-fore not suited to that role.

7. Imaging a methodology

Figure 7. Polyscopic information.

7.1. Explanation

The ideogram in Figure 7 symbolizes polyscopic informa-tion. The triangle in the ideogram represents a hierarchy ofviewpoints or "scopes". In order to understand the idea of ahierarchy of scopes it is useful to imagine that the triangle isa mountain and that its points are viewpoints. From the top ofthe mountain one sees the broad features of the terrain (a vil-lage, a forest, a lake) but not the details. From the foot of themountain one sees the details (people, houses, trees) but not thewhole terrain. Likewise, in polyscopic modeling the broad andgeneral "high-level views" are distinguished from the preciseand detailed "low-level views".

The circle represents the wholistic and rounded off high-level views and also art as the producer of such views. Thesquare represents the analytic and precise low-level views andscience as their producer. The circle and the square togethercompose an "i", the initial of "information". The square isthe foundation of the circle. The ideogram suggests thatpolyscopic modeling produces information which consists ofwholistic high-level views that are founded in analytic low-level ones.

7.2. Usage

The ideogram represents the polyscopic modeling method-ology in a nutshell. By contemplating the ideogram with thehelp of the accompanying text some of the main characteristicsof the polyscopic modeling approach to information design canbe grasped.

7.3. Message

Polyscopic information – information given in terms ofmultiple simple, coherent views – is the natural way to pro-vide both the perspective and the facts, both a clear and simpleview of the whole and the voluminous details.

The information "i" suggests that combining the expres-siveness of art with the rigor of science is the way to pro-duce polyscopically structured information. It is also suggestedhow art and science are combined: Art expresses the high-levelviews, science justifies them. Art gives information a perspec-tive, science gives it credibility and precision. Art (the circle)and science (the square) are not considered as separate kindsof activities, but as inseparable sides or aspects of all inform-ing (the "i").

The described combination of art and science is necessaryif we should produce information which is both expressive andreliable, which both shows us what is hidden to our senses andgives us confidence in such enlarged vision. Such informationand only such information can be so highly credible that it caneven be used for correcting direct sensory perception. We needsuch information in order to develop informed choice as a cul-tural alternative to naive choice.

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8. Imaging patterns

Figure 8. Goethe’s pattern.

8.1. Explanation

The darkness and the light in the Goethe’s Pattern ideogram(see Figure 8) represent two "contraries" (complementarythings or qualities). The ideogram represents a particular pat-tern of evolution where the contraries first "differentiate" andthen "sublimate". The detailed explanation of this ideogramis given in [4]. Here we provide only a cryptic interpretationwhere the contraries are reason and perception, or science andart, their cultural counterparts.

The natural function of reason and perception is to comple-ment and correct one another and in that way guide us to truth(represented by the yin-yang symbol in the ideogram). Butreason and perception can fulfill that role only if they are welldeveloped and autonomous. In the original, naive state, reasonand perception are mixed together. They first need to differen-tiate. When differentiation is complete, reason and perceptionare independent of each other. Differentiated science standswholly on rational grounds; differentiated art is pure, indepen-dent of reason or utility. It might then seem that the evolu-tion has been completed. What has been completed, however,is only a preliminary phase, in which reason and perception(or science and art) have been prepared to assume their natu-ral roles in the evolution of culture. A whole new course ofdevelopment – "sublimation" – is about to begin during whichreason and perception (or science and art) draw closer to oneanother by fulfilling their natural roles.

8.2. Usage

In polyscopic modeling the word "pattern" is a technicalterm which denotes an abstract relationship. Patterns can beunderstood by considering a familiar special case: mathemati-cal functions. As the mathematical functiony = ax2 is a spe-cific relationship between generic variablesx andy, so is everypattern a specific kind of relationship between some genericentities. But unlike mathematical functions, patterns can be

relationships of any kind, even emotional. Mathematical for-mulas serve for naming and representing mathematical func-tions; ideograms naturally serve for representing patterns. Ourpresent example is the ideogram of Goethe’s pattern.

A typical result in physics is a statement that some givenphysical entities are related in the way that is specified by agiven mathematical formula. In the statement of polyscopicmodeling results ideograms assume the role of mathematicalformulas. In the present case, the result is that art and scienceevolve according to the Goethe’s pattern. This result is a qual-itative law of change which allows us to explain and anticipatethe behavior of the considered entities.

Patterns, and ideograms that represent them, are also usedfor defining concepts. In this example the concepts "differenti-ation" and "sublimation" are defined.

8.3. Message

The result that science and art evolve according to Goethe’spattern is carefully justified in [4]. It is shown that we are nowclose to completing the differentiation phase and about to beginthe sublimation phase which will naturally bring science andart closer together.

Sublimation may elevate both science and art to newheights. As an approach to informing, combined art and sci-ence may be able to give our culture the faculty of vision.

Conclusion

The traditional view according to which information is acollection of verbal facts prevents us from taking proper ad-vantage of visual techniques. That view reflects the limitedrole of explicit information in the preindustrial culture and thelimitations of the preindustrial information technology. In themodern culture, information has a new and essential role – toguide the development and use of technology. In order to ful-fill its new role, informing needs a new orientation, which wehave described by introducing the notions “perspective” and“gestalt”. Ideograms and visual techniques in general find theirnatural purpose in so oriented informing.

References

[1] D. Karabeg. Information design. Technical Report 280, Instituteof Informatics, University of Oslo, January 2000. Preliminaryversion in IVLA Symposium Proceedings, Eskilstuna 1999.

[2] D. Karabeg. Polyscopic modeling. Technical Report 281, Insti-tute of Informatics, University of Oslo, June 2000.

[3] D. Karabeg. Role of ideograms in polyscopic modeling. IVSAannual conference, 1999. Journal article in preparation.

[4] D. Karabeg. What’s going on? Book manuscript in preparation.

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