OK, now I’m really excited.  Visualization really speaks to me.

I have always been a bit flustered or dismayed by using searches, search terms, etc.  The assumption is that one knows what one is looking for.  And generally we do.  But browsing, or exploration, however, as Manovich points out, are much more appropriate terms to describe what we want to do with collections or data sets with which we are unfamiliar.

In a way, those of us in Liberal Studies, and for that matter, anyone doing any kind of interdisciplinary work, are visualizing the vast sweep of human knowledge.  By “sampling” different disciplines, and zooming out to look at the big picture, we may be able to detect patterns, shapes, and trends that go undetected or unnoticed while zooming in on a highly specialized area.  And as DHers, we are doing just that, only much faster and on a vastly bigger scale.

In the spirit of sharing interesting maps, here’s one I enjoy, which visualizes the social connections of jazz musicians:  http://linkedjazz.org/network/