Information Graphics: is Information an Art?

Direct Link to the video: BBC Newsnight: Information Graphics
Via @dMultimedia - Blog dMultimedia

This BBC broadcast from August 9, 2010, looks into the art of making information beautiful, and poses the question: How do you make statistics look interesting? The writer and designer David McCandless replies:

..."you just need to apply the rules of visual design to information"...

Is information an art? And how does this affect the nature and evolution of science and knowledge?

The art historian Judith Wechsler engaged in interdisciplinary studies exploring some of this at MIT, and edited a book: On Aesthetics in Science, which we found very useful and informative when teaching epistemology of science. We were looking for creative original sources to approach the generation and processing of information, and how this triggered certain effects in social communication working with an interdisciplinary team in the late '80's. Encountering this book was mind blowing, as are many of the clips we encounter today.

The dawning of the internet and tools that enabled social learning and networking in business environments in the '90s, brought the means and resources that the University did not have at the time: processors, personal computers and of course, the net. Today you don't need to be sitting in a University nor working with a major corporation, to be able to acquire the means to develop your own learning paths of inquiry, and personal development. It's a matter of personal interest and professional responsibility.

What you may need is scaffolding, and coaching to recognize where you stand, and how to be able to learn and design your information and knowledge domains, how to distinguish what is relevant and what is useful to you, for your projects and teams.

Are you aware of the impact that a medium and a format can have, informing the interactional design in different settings? Likewise, your interactional design informs your chances to sustain successful communications, when engaging in conversation and negotiating or "sharing" information with others.

..."images are a powerful global language packed with emotional power"...

..."However even a bar chart can be misleading, if taken completely at face value"...

Are you aware?

Symphony of Science

Beautifully inspiring...

Link to the post on YouTube, 3:06min clip posted February 25, 2010

Smos has launched!

Yesterday I came across this inspiring BBC News, science article: "Mapping the great wheel of water", posted November 1, 2009 by Jonathan Amos, Science reporter.

To learn more on ESA's water mission: SMOS official site.

We hope they don't mind we've uploaded here a light version of the clip for students to watch and follow the transcript:

Transcript on Google Docs (Top menue: File / Download as / pdf)

Direct link to BBC article (interesting graphs & clip)< - - LINK FIXED

Turning Cars and Computers into Art

Rocketboom interviews Zach Lieberman on his latest projects. (3:57min video)

Transcript:

-I'm here with Zack Lieverman and I don't know exactly what to call you... What would you title yourself as?

-Like nerd, artist, researcher, hacker, yeah... I don't know.

-Renaissance man of technology?

-I guess so maybe.

-So how did you get your start in the field that you're doing right now?

-I discovered this community on-line, especially through Flash, people writing code to animate, and I've always loved animation... And for me it was just really beautiful this idea that you could write some lines of could and you could see something move, and then you could make really elegant types of motion.

One thing that I'm involved with now is an open source project called open frameworks, which is the C++ toolkit so... I said before I'm sort of a nerd artist, I you know, re-write software, we do sort of low level hacking, and this is making a tool for other people to make stuff with.

-For each individual use you're creating a brand new kind of software...

-Yeah, every time we have a new problem, a magician comes and says I want to do augmented reality card trick and then it's like, OK, let's make new software, about, you know, how do we track a playing card... we have a new problem and we come up with software to solve it.

-So I saw a really cool video on ... I think that it uses the open frameworks software with a car...

-Yeah, the project was in Belgium, and it was an advertising company that has the Toyota account and then, once they had the idea of driving and making a type face they contacted me through that... they needed to use software kind of real time software, in order to track the car to get a good sense of what the outcome would be. They did some experiments here, with, kind of , imagining on paper what the movements would be like. The driver would then take those drawings and try to interpret it driving, he would drive slowly at first and then drive faster, cause some of the things are really... involved wipe outs ... I software outputed in image and then the software designers took that image traced it and cleaned it up a bit, and then made the font.

We were making an eye tracker for a disabled graffiti writer, named Tempt, and Tempt has "Lug...ris" disease, and we were making a tool to help him retro feel again with his eye... Ok let's hook this up...

We're actually tracking the pupil, so as the pupil moves around we're following it, so we're like using open frameworks... write some code in order to find it and fitting and ellipse through it. There is data coming from the camera, and then we have some illumination from this infrared LEDs, your eyes are very good input devices, not a very good output device, and when you actually start to hook it up to draw, it's a little bit tricky.

And so we have to do a lot of work to make it easy for ourselves, and also easy for Tempt, it's all Tempt can use to communicate

-I guess this takes a bit of a learning curve ...

-It's a little quirky right now...

-I just closed my eyes that's the weirdest thing...

-So if anyone wants to look into using your software, how do they do that?

-Sure, so they can join the main list, it's at frameworks.cc and then we have workshops and events all the time.

-Somebody could learn from the master..

-No no, we're all learning so that's the exciting...everybody is in it together and learning and growing and evolving together.

-Very cool, thank you very much, that is cool stuff.

Have a look at Funky Forest

Nanoscale Computation and Sims

Via KQED YouTube Channel, a 10:28 min clip posted May 2007 featuring Jeffrey Grossman from UC Berkeley, informing on the world of the nanometer unit of measure that is, one billionth of a meter. Dr. Grossman is interested in "How we do science and how we can do it better", and on the need to "lower the boundaries between basic and applied research" and "improve interdisciplinary idea generation."

One of the best analogies for a nanometer is to compare it with a human hair: "if you take a hair off from the top of your head, you can see that it's very thin, and now if you take something that is a hundred thousand times thinner than that, that's a nanometer."

Nanotechnology develops the ability to observe and manipulate particles at the atomic level, where everyday materials "start to act in unimaginable ways".

At the Computational Nanoscience Group at UC Berkeley, they focus on the "application and development of cutting-edge classical quantum simulation tools". Go visit!

Evolving Administration

The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing, on the nomination of Steven Chu to be Secretary of Energy with the new team driven by the now President Obama. This was a Full Committee Hearing, on Tuesday January 13, 2009.

If you choose to link to the original version, these are the key moments:

Minute Action

• 15:51 Introductions
  
• 32:09 Dr. Chu swears and gives testimony
  
• 41:16 Questions and Answers
  

Many questions by Senate representatives insist on traditional energy sources and defense issues, traditional nuclear energy issues, and nuclear arms clean up still pending. Scroll to minute 92:00 (min 95:27 he responds commenting on-going plans and his will to get going, at the same time, referring to the changing mood in the country with respect to this topic, and the new discoveries that science can bring.

"... as a scientist I am ever optimistic about our ability to expand the boundaries of what is possible". "training, development, employment (...) improving management and program implementation, simply put, if the Department is to meet the challenges ahead, we'll have to run more efficiently and effectively. One of my first priorities will be to put together a strong leadership and management team, one that shares not only my vision for the Department, but also my commitment to improving the way that the Dept. does business. I do not underestimate the difficulty of meeting these challenges...but I remain optimistic, that we can meet them".

This Senate Committee offers a very useful link of FAQ describing many content options and tools.

How Do We Know What We Know?

Image from the Site of The Exploratorium

California Academy of Sciences offers "sneak previews" of the new building, in Golden Gate Park. This would be close to completion according to the site. Scott Morgan, Senior Project Mgr. mentions the marvels that await inside to visitors. "You'll notice we've actually combined a little bit of the old, with the new".

The intent of the architect was to let the people in the building, reconnect with the park having a direct sight line to the nature outside.

On the 4th clip the Senior Curator of Botany talks about a "Living Roof" with native species grown during years and they wanted something compelling, educational : "when something is beautiful, it's much more compelling, educational all the way round".

Browsing the Golden Gate area wonders ... I had to visit the Exploratorium, the museum of science, art and human perception, to check what's up :-) since the last time I visited.

Highlights: Podcasts from the Exploratorium in San Francisco... start with: Alfred Wegener's crazy idea, an interview with Mel Zucker, Professor of Geology, Skyline college, San Bruno, California.

Follow with Today's Science Headlines and choose to Download a Booklet or a Widget to receive updates on your desktop.
Check feeds from: BBC, CNN, Discovery Channel, EurekaAlert!, MSNBC, National Geographic, National Science Foundation, Nature Magazine, Nature and Science, New Scientist, Science Daily, Science Magazine, Science NOW, Scientific American, and...Yahoo!

Whatever they dream

"Whatever they dream ... that's what they should reach for, and that's what they can achieve"

(Dr. Sally Ride)


Via: The Women's Conference Channel


My dream (today, and after having watched the closing ceremony of the Olympics 2008 yesterday) is that the image of humans having fun and "joining" for a common purpose ... regardless of gender, politics, belief, tradition and temporary maps... was not just an image and an exceptional couple weeks period.

The Olympic Games' rules involving 200+ countries seem to work pretty well for a couple weeks. WHAT IF ?... this was the vision of reality many of us could contribute to ... and share? Except for a few moments of non-sense with some participants -possibly less than 5 in thousands- ... THERE IS PROOF ... that IT CAN BE DONE.

Exploring beyond maps

Link to clip:

Never was the expression "the map is not the territory" so relevant: FYI we still have plenty of "frontier(s) of science ... and space" within our planet.

Dr. Robert Ballard doesn't need much presentation if you've watched the clip. After reading TED's 2008 Bio my first move was to go directly to the Jason.org site to learn more, and register.

Observing the clip again several times with students, it brought forth conversation flows drifting on to NASA's explorations, and the ways it may have fostered many of the technologies we now enjoy. NASA's surprising new storytelling capabilities IMO, show it has revamped at least a bit in its communication strategies, by outreaching with social-multi-media, opening some space for participation, "folksonomy" and fun. e.g. Twittering MarsPhoenix and the "Spacevidcasts", highly info-edu-entertaining leads I came across -once again- via NYTimes AND Twitter. It might be just a one person in NASA focusing on the Twitter activity, hopefully more, I find it a wonderful tool to inform and motivate kids learning languages, sciences, et al, to use, comment, observe... and go for more.

Recently a science researcher had distinguished NOAA, as his preferred site for climatology data, and it also rang more than a bell: the many cute stories involving submersibles and ocean exploration heard back in '98 at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The island (University base for the mapping & exploration project with Internet 2!!) appears to be Rhode Island, and the site of Dr. Robert Ballard, appears listed under "The NOAA Ocean Exploration program". Although at the NOAA site, it doesn't show unless you run a search for it, then it shows this.

From Dis-enabling to Enabling

An International Psychology and Education Congress took place in Oviedo, Spain, this past week. The diversity of frameworks attempting to dialogue and debate was a very interesting experience to observe, according to the reports of some participants. Hopefully the planned integration of these two major areas of inquiry -if it does occur, might evolve into a different type of "learning organization". Think "win-win" you guys!! for a change...

At the same time, the now confirmed c h a n g e of Governance at the University of Oviedo following the electoral process, might bring forth not only new challenges (some change for starters) but also (hopefully) a bit more of an evolutionary learning context in the future.

Now back to check "what's up" in virtual planet following favorite authors, experts in "thinking tools" who actually "walk the talk", and evolutionary learning communities, that do exist and "insist", I came across this:


See: Howard Rheingold's Vlog
Yochai Benkler's web

Science and the in-between

Michael Winters offers very inspiring memes posted on Wired Science - Education on how to better align what students learn in the classroom and what they then do with the information. Will they learn more and be better informed when they are able to apply what they've been learning? You bet.

Tuning in to his proposal that technology experts and science teachers could help figure out the "in-between of theory and its outcomes", I propose that every time we make an observation we ask ourselves the question: what does my observation inform about my own frameworks? Namely, to enquire ourselves about sets of assumptions and "in theory" factual information we usually take for granted. Information and frames of learnings that we may have kept without any updating, in a long, long time.

For students to work at the same time they are studying, could not only help maintain a healthy information flow between isolated domains of knowledge, namely between practical common sense in life and work, and academia, it might also cross-polinize learning environments and allow double-checks to prevent dis-information. Food for thought.

Science, Politics and the Media

By way of the Exploratorium, I found this very informative talk excerpt of Speaking Science 2.0, given in May 2007 by Chris Mooney.



The other speaker who does not appear on this video, Matthew C. Nisbet focuses on the "intersections between science, media and politics", informing on the implications and uses of the concept of "framing", extensively on his Blog: Framing Science.

My line of work is far from politics and the media, but I do apply "re-framing" and constructive intervention in conversational practices: to enhance English language communication pragmatics and skills, operating with Spanish native speakers. I first learned about "re-framing" as a concept-frame/work applied in systems and cognitive sciences, observed it being applied with good results in family therapy and group dynamics, to facilitate cultural and generational change, and foster creativity, amongst other possibilities.

Going back to "Science, Politics and the Media" and with the coming elections in the US and in Spain, together with the ecological issues at stake, the above clip needs to be underscored, in order to generate awareness, demanding: "productive policy action". I live in Asturias region, where these days there is a "low profile" controversy on who is to blame for an oil slick along the Avilés estuary...with the local media seemingly more inclined towards the political controversy they are also "framing", while informing that "probably there will be no investigation outcomes". Understanding: -quote- "no serious legal responsibilities".

Last but not least: "Monkey see, Monkey do" on "Mirror Neurons" by Daniel Glaser, on the Nova Science Now-PBS archives from 2005.

Learning about 2L Geo and Arts

This just a still, link to this blog to watch the clip: "Alien Beach". (runs better there than on the youtube site on my screen at least).

From the different versions of Alien Beach, I like this one by Juria Yoshikawa, (see top left link to "video in its original context") there. Interesting variation showing different versions adding to an original site or take, reminding me of "Watch the world(s)". in youtube. Love the visuals and "Rollercoaster" music on Watch the World(s) - Revisited.

Hyperlinked multimedia casts and share networks allow amazing explorative drifts...such as those I found in Judith Wechsler's book, connecting arts and science, read in the early '90s. (Fondo de Cult. Económica Spanish version).

The "palimpsests and interpenetrations" blog linked above informs on "Second Life Geography", explorations, learn more on this amazing clip:


By mageEgo .

This drift started earlier today looking for 2L tutorials in Argentonia, for that's the site where I first learned about 2L, when watching the inauguration of a UPNV site some time ago.

The debate regarding 2L and other virtual planets is spread between doers who walk their talk on virtual environments's pro's and cons, and fierce opponents, whom in most cases don't have a clue of what they're talking about -zero experiencing.
Myself having some issues with pacific time and the stuff I would like to explore (with others that is).