Reading Response to "Time in Print"

Before the invention of timeline, the key issue in representing history is to find a simplified and clear visual scheme for the notion of chronology. After timeline is widely adopted and extensively used in everyday life, its linear format starts to conflict with the non-linearity and complexity of history events. As a result, even though timeline is still dominating the representation of history, other forms such as trees and matrix are also being tested and utilized. I find the reading inspiring because it makes people pay attention to the linear metaphor of time which we all took for guaranteed, and provokes people to think about alternative forms of representing history. Those representations may be less accurate or comprehensive compared with a timeline, but they potentially are able to reveal the personal interpretations of that history.