Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
Hooke's
Micrographia
to particle trails in cloud chambers (e.g. Adams
1994, Hankins 1995, Lightman 1997). Some images, such as the double
helix and the Bohr-Rutherford atom have become so well-known that
they are iconic, and even the simplest doodle is all that is needed to call
to mind the larger subject matter they represent. More recently, there has
been growing interest in images of science and scientists. In particular,
LaFollette (1990)
explores this topic, looking at the impact of public im-
ages of science on science itself.
10
5.
The Use of Metonyms
One of the problems with attempting to decode images is that the inter-
pretation is subjective. Different viewers see different things and can
trace different roots. There is also the Derridian problem of endless re-
interpretation.
11
In terms of setting images before the public, Norman M.
Klein provides a way to interpret the link between image and public
perception. According to Klein (2002), powerful images such as the pic-
ture of Einstein or the double helix create metonyms. A term borrowed
from literature, a metonym is the use of one name (often a short form)
for another, often more complex, concept. This kind of coding is very
common, such as a reporter saying 'the White House' to represent the
president or the executive branch more generally. Morrison and Söder-
ston employed visual metonyms in both a direct and an exoteric manner.
To understand what direct and exoteric metonyms are, consider the mass
media image of Albert Einstein. Although Einstein was not the only
wild-haired eccentric genius from whom this image was drawn - recall
Charles Darwin's or Dimtri Mendeleev's magnificent bramble of beard,
for example -, his image has really taken over the category. Einstein's
picture appears on everything from coffee mugs to boxer shorts. As a
direct metonym, a picture of Einstein in a biography of Einstein attempts
to capture a small slice of time, placing an image of the man in the mind
of the reader in the context of the story of the great scientist. Just as the
use of the term 'White House' brings to mind the executive branch of the
10
For various aspects of the origin of images in science, see Shea 2000.
11
Or as Lodge (1975) put it “every decoding is another encoding”.
