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Diagrams in the Mind and in the World: Relations between Internal and External Visualizations

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Book cover Diagrammatic Representation and Inference (Diagrams 2004)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNAI,volume 2980))

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Abstract

Recent advances in computer technology and graphics have made it possible to produce powerful visualizations of scientific phenomena and more abstract information. There is currently much excitement about the potential of these computer visualizations, particularly in education and training in science, technology and medicine. This paper examines three possible relations that might exist between internal and external visualization. First, external visualizations might substitute for internal visualizations. Second their comprehension and use may depend on internal visualizations. Third, they might augment and be augmented by internal visualizations. By reviewing these possibilities, it is argued that the design of external visualizations should be informed by research on internal visualization skills, and that the development of technologies for external visualizations calls for more research on the nature of internal visualization abilities.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA

    Mary Hegarty

Authors
  1. Mary Hegarty
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Computer Laboratory, University of Cambridge, CB3 0FD, Cambridge, UK

    Alan F. Blackwell

  2. Clayton School of IT Monash University, 3800, Australia

    Kim Marriott

  3. Faculty of Culture and Information Science, Doshisha University, Japan

    Atsushi Shimojima

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© 2004 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Hegarty, M. (2004). Diagrams in the Mind and in the World: Relations between Internal and External Visualizations. In: Blackwell, A.F., Marriott, K., Shimojima, A. (eds) Diagrammatic Representation and Inference. Diagrams 2004. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 2980. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-25931-2_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-25931-2_1

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-21268-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-25931-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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