Information Visualization: From Aristotle, Plato, to the year 3706

There can be no words without images --- Aristotle

Of all the senses, trust only the sense of sight ---this is paraphrased, and taken from Metaphysics, Aristotle [E.&.O.E., info courtesy Anonymous Blogger]

In the mind’s eye:
This view of the word as preeminent is at odds with millennia of thought. Aristotle said, “There can be no words without images.” Plato gave primacy to sight over all the other senses, saying, “Of all the senses, trust only the sense of sight.” While intellectually extolling the virtue of text over image, Western culture has clearly retained a special place for images. Many of today’s most commonly used phrases suggest we agree with Aristotle and Plato that we perceive primarily through sight: “I see your point,” “Let me see,” “Seeing eye to eye,” “Love at first sight,” “See what I mean,” and, of course, “In the mind’s eye,” just to name a few.
We are, after all, a visual species. Yes, a scent, a taste, a sound, even the texture of an object can evoke powerful memories, but it is sight that adds definition. Think back to the last time you sensed a particular perfume or smelled a favorite food. What images came to mind? Read more from Professional communicators for a digital age, by Cameron Sanders. SOURCE: Creating Digital Content, John Rice & Brian McKernan, Editors, © McGraw-Hill 2001 · POSTED: 04/09/04

The Future historians' perspective:

Archeologists in the year 3706 uncovering the buried ruins of any major city in the world will no doubt find text on billboards, storefronts, traffic signs, and so on in the languages we know and use today. These words however will probably not be understood by 38th Century scientists because languages of today will eventually become obsolete and forgotten. Luckily, there will be an energetic and tenacious researcher with a well-used digging tool who will find along the viaducts and abandoned highways in the old cities evidence of writing that will be instantly recognized and easily read. For amid the buried rubble of civilizations long past will be elaborated and brightly colored signs and symbols created by graffiti artists that will last through the millennia. This often scoffed and criminalized form of visual communication will in the future become the one, universally accepted language. Therefore, the future of mass communications does not reply on the preservation of pens, paper, computers, or satellites. In the vast future, we will understand ancient civilizations because of compressed paint in spray cans. Continue reading Syntactic Theory of Visual Communication, by Paul Martin Lester, Ph.D.

See also: The Art & Practice of Creative Visualization by Ophiel - The Philosophers Stone The Art & Practice of Creative Visualization by Ophiel - There’s more to creative visualization than meets the eye! [ART & PRACTICE OF CREATIVE VISUALIZATION contains unusual, but highly effective prose style intended to appeal to a beginning down home, grass roots reader. The author provides a clear explanation of what visualization is, and why it works]