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Fig. 1.7
Alexander
Fleming's penicillin mould,
1935 (© Science Museum,
London)
Discoveries in the direct context of seeing are common in the history of
science. When Sir Alexander Fleming (1881-1955) noticed that the colonies of
staphylococci around one particular colony had died, he seized the small window
of opportunity created by the unexpected observation and led to the discovery of
penicillin. Many bacteriologists would not have thought this particularly remarkable
for it has long been known that some bacteria interfere with growth of others.
Figure
1.7
is a photograph of Fleming's penicillin mould.
The German chemist Kekule von Stradonitz (1829-1896) made one of the most
important discoveries of organic chemistry, the structure of the benzene ring. Having
pondered the problem for some time, he turned his chair to the fire and fell asleep:
“Again the atoms were gamboling before my eyes :::.Mymentaleye ::: could
now distinguish large structures ::: all twining and twisting in snake-like motion.
But look! What was that? One of the snakes had seized hold of its own tail, and the
form whirled mockingly before my eyes. As if a flash of lightning I awoke.” The
spontaneous inner image of the snaking biting its own tail suggested to Kekule that
organic compounds, such as benzene, are not open structures but closed rings.
Complex thinking operations often require imagery that is abstract and Gestalt-
like. This is not that abstract imagery is more important than concrete; rather,
abstract and concrete imagery are complementary. A flexible visual thinker can
move readily back and forth between the two. Chess, with 64 positions, requires
complex mental manipulations. Researchers have found that chess masters rarely
see a realistic and detailed memory image of the chessboard. Instead, they com-
monly see a Gestalt-like image made up of strategic groupings. Expert chess players
are able to focus their thinking on higher-level patterns and avoid the distraction of
details that are less relevant to the patterns; they think in relation to abstract sensory
images, not concrete ones (McKim
1980
).
Information visualization aims to reveal insights into complex and abstract
information by drawing upon a wide range of perceptual and cognitive abilities of
human beings. Information visualization not only can help us find specific pieces of
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