19.095 visualization and narrative

                Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 19, No. 95.
       Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
                   www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
                        www.princeton.edu/humanist/
                     Submit to: humanist_at_princeton.edu

         Date: Sat, 11 Jun 2005 09:36:17 +0100
         From: lachance_at_origin.chass.utoronto.ca (Francois Lachance)
         Subject: Visualisation and Narrative

Willard

In Humanist 19.091, Adrian Miles makes the point that many Graphical User
Interfaces are event driven along the lines of a linguistic model. I
wonder if it is not a particular linguistic model that is at play. A
Euro-centric model?

I ask because in the past I have found it very fruitful to meditate upon
the anthropological findings of Nancy Munn.

<quote>

In Australian aborignial visual designs and storytelling, Nancy Munn
reports

[T]here is no clear distinction between actor-action and actor-object
constructions, and it is convenient to link them both in one overarching
figure type with a general meaning that can be stated as "actor (in
relation to)-item" ("actor-item"). (Walbiri Iconography 81).

<cit>
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/D6N2.HTM#munn
</cit>

</quote>

To pick up the example supplied by Adrian, there is a visual domain that
surrounds the "action kernel". A domain which must be traversed by the
user. Me-mouse-screen-cursor-[location on screen] --- feedback can be
returned at any of these points and through one of more of these points.

We bring sets of relations to our interactions.

-- 
Francois Lachance, Scholar-at-large
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~lachance/jardin
Skill may be the capacity to manipulate perceptions of knowledge.
Magic is.