Reading 1 comments: Form follows function

Look through the evolution of interpretation of time, the form of timeline graph follows the intention at most of time, ranging from the linear metaphor to other illustrative elements. On one hand, As the dimension of our understanding to time is increasingly growing, the form of the timeline changed in correspondence. In the case of cross section of giant sequoia, the form emerged from the intention of representation in objective ways. Some design principles are applied to the timeline as well to achieve more understandable and clear graph such as the priority of events. On the other hand, new forms of timeline would help us to get new views on events. For example, the matrix form facilitated the scholar’s understanding of the many intersecting trajectories of history Sometimes the form would go off the path, as mentioned in the article that “In the late eighteenth century, when the timeline began to flourish in Europe, sophisticated technologies of printing and engraving had long been available, as had techniques for geometrical plotting and projection far more complex than were necessary for such simple diagrams”. However, the direction would be readdressed eventually

Reading 2 comments: Is spatial humanities equal to GIS?

“Space are not simply the setting for historical action but are a significant product and determinant of change. They are not passive stings but the medium for the development of culture”. This demonstrated the necessity of spatial humanities is not only a technique or a tool, but a research perspective and the built environment is not only ‘a setting’. And GIS, as a strong geo-spatial research system, is growing rapidly and trying to cover more and more aspects of spatial humanities, such as the visual and experiential deep map. Even though the GIS could provide 3D even immersive experience, there are still few things missing in it. The first would be memory, as mentioned in the article that “Memory is essential for our identity, whether as individuals or as a society, but it remains troublesome as evidence because it always is informed by what has happened in the interim between an event and the act of recall.” The dynamic memory is hard to be preserved in GIS. Second, the fourth dimension – Time, is usually non-existence in GIS, the change through time is an essential attribute for built environment as well. The last but not the lease, “GIS is a powerful tool in the management and analysis of evidence, contributing primarily by locating historical and cultural exegesis more explicitly in space and time. It aids but does not replace expert narrative: it finds pat- terns, facilitates comparisons, enhances perspective, and illustrates data, among other benefits, but its results ultimately find expression primarily in the vetted forms accepted by our disciplines.”