ABSTRACT

How can cartoon images aid in understanding bacterial biological processes? What prompts physicists to blur their images before showing them to biologists? Considering that the astronomer’s data consists solely of invisible, electric impulses, what is the difference between representing outer space as images, graphs, or sound? How does a work of contemporary art differ from a scientific image if we cannot visually distinguish between the two? How do aesthetics, art, and design influence scientific visualization and vice versa? This volume asks critically important questions about scientific data representation and provides significant insights to a field that is interdisciplinary in its very core. The authors investigate scientific data representation through the joint optics of the humanities and natural sciences. The volume particularly appeals to scholars in visual and aesthetic studies, data visualization, scientific illustration, experience culture, information design, and science communication.

chapter 3|14 pages

Scientific Data Visualization

Aesthetic for Diagrammatic Clarity

chapter 6|13 pages

The Epistemics of Data Representation

How to Transform Data into Knowledge

chapter 8|14 pages

Scientific Storytelling

Visualizing for Public Audiences

chapter 10|11 pages

Ideas in Action

Using Animation to Cut through Complexity