Xref: utzoo alt.hypertext:865 comp.multimedia:382 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!amdcad!jetsun!pyramid!athertn!hemlock!mcgregor From: mcgregor@hemlock.Atherton.COM (Scott McGregor) Newsgroups: alt.hypertext,comp.multimedia Subject: Re: Images vs. Text Message-ID: <35051@athertn.Atherton.COM> Date: 19 Apr 91 16:36:34 GMT References: <34980@athertn.Atherton.COM>> Sender: news@athertn.Atherton.COM Reply-To: mcgregor@hemlock.Atherton.COM (Scott McGregor) Followup-To: alt.hypertext Distribution: na Organization: Atherton Technology -- Sunnyvale, CA Lines: 65 In article , jpenny@ms.uky.edu (Jim Penny) writes: > I have sequences of pictures having only > 8, 10, 12,... 20 lines (or equivalently segments) in them. I would be glad > to email them in PostScript from to anyone who thinks that they can decode > the meaning of say the first 3 in each series. I hope no one seriously believes that these provide tests that prove the superiority of text over graphics. If anyone does, I am willing to offer sets of text that I have written (and sometimes posted) that are 8, 10, 12,...20 lines long (but equally stripped from context). I would be glad to email them in ascii form to anyone who thinks that they can decode the meaning of say the first 3 in each series. I think that given my limited writing skills, specialized knowledge, etc. that many people wouldn't have the slightest idea what I was talking about (a situtation that I have frequently observed with regards to some of my even longer writings). I don't think this proves that text is more impoverished than images--rather it might say more about my inability to use it well, and the lack of shared knowledge (context) between me and the readers. Part of that knowledge might include knowledge of the language in which my selections are written. Under similar circumstances it should be no surprise that random images might fail to communicate too. > I suspect in the work that most of us do, pictures are relegated to > illumination for very good reasons; it is simply impossible to convey > most things without textual explanation, and in fact the amount of > explanation is usually large. And of course, sometimes large explanations are unacceptable. No doubt many news readers have already skipped this posting due to its length. Certainly very few people will read a lengthy user manual for a video game before trying it. Words have their place, and so do pictures. Neither can completely substitute for the other in all cases. > Try to draw a picture of a continuous non-differentiable curve, > or of a quark or to illustrate the difference between the strong and > weak operator topologies. Show these pictures to an untrained > audience-- how far do you think they will get in perceiving the > meaning. It seems obvious to me that a key feature of this is the requirement of an untrained audience! How many untrained people would understand an equally brief textual discussion of these! Interestingly enough, most introductory physics classes include lots of diagrams, and particularly, Feynman World Diagrams are frequently used to help people understand quarks and particle interactions. Most introductory texts in calculus show cartesian curves with tangents indicated to illustrate derivatives, and areas under the curve to indicate integrals. In fact, in both arenas, it is not until you get to particularly high level discussions that diagrams drop out--and at those high levels, it is often the direct manipulation of symbols (equations, formal terms, etc.) that the higher level work is concerned with! In other words, experts share a context that novices do not--context is critical to understanding--until text or graphics are grounded in context they are not understandable. Sometimes text keys are better grounded, and sometimes images are, and often times a combination helps elucidate context and concepts better than either alone. For those who think text is always unambiguous, even stripped of context, What are "Prescient Agents"? Scott McGregor Atherton Technology mcgregor@atherton.com