Saturday, June 10, 2006

What Is "Visualization" of Evidence and Inference?

Premise: Visualization can facilitate the comprehension, memorization, and analysis of evidence. See Conference Announcement: Graphic and Visual Representations of Evidence and Inference in Legal Settings. But what is "visualization"? (Can blind people visualize evidence?) And when and why do visual representations of evidence and inference impede rather than facilitate understanding? Do successful visual (or graphic) representations of complex problems simplify them? How do they do that? Can representations built out of simple elements become complex? (Yes.) Unintelligible? (Yes.)

For interesting notes about these and other questions -- including the relationship between (i) "artistic" representations and (ii) representations using "logical" elements such as arcs and nodes -- see Priit Parmakson, When Does Non-Visual Become Visual?.

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