CS295J/Theory of Visualization outline - Revision history

David Laidlaw: Theory of Visualization outline moved to CS295J/Theory of Visualization outline

2009-01-23T18:22:29Z

Theory of Visualization outline moved to CS295J/Theory of Visualization outline

← Older revision	Revision as of 18:22, 23 January 2009
(No difference)

David Laidlaw at 16:23, 23 January 2009

2009-01-23T16:23:08Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:23, 23 January 2009
Line 21:		Line 21:
	*[VAST keynote speaker said: for vis tools, utility is speed of doing something.		*[VAST keynote speaker said: for vis tools, utility is speed of doing something.
	*how quickly they can be used		*how quickly they can be used

	*create models/theories to simplify/predict human		*create models/theories to simplify/predict human
	**speed/accuracy using it for important tasks		**speed/accuracy using it for important tasks
Line 42:		Line 41:
	We actually have some ingredients		We actually have some ingredients

	some visualization methods range from		some visualization methods; range from
	*often used to		*often used to
	*invented but not used		*invented but not used
	*they give us some sense of the shape of the space of visualization methods		*they give us some sense of the shape of the space of visualization methods

	some jobs or tasks		some jobs or tasks; they range from
	*range from		*the abstract ``analyze data''
	**the abstract ``analyze data''		*to ``count the critical points in this picture of a 2D vector field''
	**to ``count the critical points in this picture of a 2D vector field''

	some acquired data or observations about these visualization methods and tasks		some acquired data or observations about these visualization methods and tasks

David Laidlaw: New page: there are different kinds of models, but permit me to be somewhatinformal here. CHARACTERISTICS OF A USEFUL THEORY OR MODEL explains observations simplifies -- doesn't just repeat obser...

2009-01-23T16:21:06Z

New page: there are different kinds of models, but permit me to be somewhatinformal here. CHARACTERISTICS OF A USEFUL THEORY OR MODEL *explains observations *simplifies -- doesn't just repeat obser...

New page

there are different kinds of models, but permit me to be somewhatinformal here.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A USEFUL THEORY OR MODEL
*explains observations
*simplifies -- doesn't just repeat observations
*predicts future observations

theories of physics
*started with lots of observations of the world
*created models/theories to simplify/predict them

*Newtonian
*relativistic
*quantum
*maybe string theory

we'll start a visualization theory with observations about visualization methods
*we observe how useful they are
*[VAST keynote speaker said: for vis tools, utility is speed of doing something.
*how quickly they can be used

*create models/theories to simplify/predict human
**speed/accuracy using it for important tasks

u(v,j)

*u tells us how good a visualization method is for a task
*space of all possible visualization methods
**and all possible tasks
*we just have to figure out how to calculate it

oh, and ``visualization method''
*all possible interactions
*all possible display setups

this is very meta-level
*but it gives us a starting point
*at least for a thought experiment

We actually have some ingredients

some visualization methods range from
*often used to
*invented but not used
*they give us some sense of the shape of the space of visualization methods

some jobs or tasks
*range from
**the abstract ``analyze data''
**to ``count the critical points in this picture of a 2D vector field''

some acquired data or observations about these visualization methods and tasks
*these data range from
**unrecorded experiences and intuition
**through recorded anecdotal data
**to quantitative user study results

*these data are effectively point samples of u
*some can perhaps be generalized
*but we're not quite done yet

some models/theories of interaction tell us how we might calculate sub-parts of u*
*Fitt's Law
*Steering Law

*predictions of how parameterized interaction techniques work
**how accurate/fast will people be

a pretty good understanding of visual perception
*models of low-level vision: center/surround of photo receptors
*models of cue integration: how we couple and transition among
**the handful of different depth cues, for example
*models of higher-level vision: sensory cues used for navigation

*related to visualization and interaction, but aimed at how people make sense of their senses, not how vis techniques work
**[sounds subtle, but for now it's a significant difference]

theories of cognition
*e.g. visual working memory
*e.g. verbal working memory

finally, visual design, product design, art
*best practices
*tailored over centuries
*experience that is taught through doing
*and that very much incorporates evaluation

CS295J/Theory of Visualization outline - Revision history

David Laidlaw: Theory of Visualization outline moved to CS295J/Theory of Visualization outline

David Laidlaw at 16:23, 23 January 2009

David Laidlaw: New page: there are different kinds of models, but permit me to be somewhatinformal here. CHARACTERISTICS OF A USEFUL THEORY OR MODEL *explains observations *simplifies -- doesn't just repeat obser...

David Laidlaw: New page: there are different kinds of models, but permit me to be somewhatinformal here. CHARACTERISTICS OF A USEFUL THEORY OR MODEL explains observations simplifies -- doesn't just repeat obser...