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Article published In:
Information Visualization
Edited by Marian Dörk and Isabel Meirelles
[Information Design Journal 25:1] 2019
► pp. 43–55

Belief at first sight

Data visualization and the rationalization of seeing

| Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
| University of Calgary
| Aarhus University
| University of Calgary
| University of Calgary
| Simon Fraser University

Data visualizations are often represented in public discourse as objective proof of facts. However, a visualization is only a single translation of reality, just like any other media, representation devices, or modes of representation. If we wish to encourage thoughtful, informed, and literate consumption of data visualizations, it is crucial that we consider why they are often presented and interpreted as objective. We reflect theoretically on data visualization as a system of representation historically anchored in science, rationalism, and notions of objectivity. It establishes itself within a lineage of conventions for visual representations which extends from the Renaissance to the present and includes perspective drawing, photography, cinema and television, as well as computer graphics. By examining our tendency to see credibility in data visualizations and grounding that predisposition in a historical context, we hope to encourage more critical and nuanced production and interpretation of data visualizations in the public discourse.

Keywords: data visualization, representation, objectivity, historical context
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Modes of representation and worldviews
  • 3.Perspective drawing
  • 4.Early photography
  • 5.Data visualization as representation
  • 6.Discussion: Belief at first sight
    • Deeper visualization literacy
    • Awareness of black boxes
    • Develop critical reflexivity in visualization
  • 7.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Author queries
  • References
Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at [email protected].

Published online: 16 March 2020
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/idj.25.1.04kos
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