Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
its referent. By thinking about our imagery, we
can see relations of signals, symbols, and signs to
their referents. Many times imagination relates to
earlier sensory experiences. When confined to a
common space and unable to satisfy their predilec-
tions, soldiers, sailors, and prisoners often invoke
the taste of their favorite food. Imagination may
enhance perception and communication through
the senses. Bodily stimulation may also enhance
imagination related to senses.
Imagination has an 'image' word inside of
it; however, there are many ways we may use
imagination without images, for example imagi-
nation of musicians does not need to be visual.
Moreover, both the physical presence of objects
and perception of material objects are not neces-
sary to imagine them vividly. Imagination may
relate to human capacities resulting from differ-
ent kinds of perception through the senses: sight,
hearing, taste, smell, touch, balance, kinesthesia
that gives us a sense of motion, a sense of ac-
celeration, proprioception that allows sensing
the relative position of parts of the body, feeling
direction, temperature, sensitivity to pain, and
many other internal senses. We may ponder about
self-awareness in animals and their capacity to
imagine; it's a common knowledge that many ani-
mals can display fear, anger, affection, boredom,
and playfulness, great apes learn sign language,
dolphins understand iconic language and display
sense of humor, some parrots can count, and some
elephants paint pictures.
Imagination seems to be necessary to be able
to feel empathy, which in turn, may make us
more human and joyful. A former White House
speechwriter Daniel Pink (2006, p. 159) described
empathy as “the ability to imagine yourself in
someone else's position and to intuit what that
person is feeling.” …But Empathy isn't sympathy
- that is, feeling bad
for
someone else. It is feeling
with
someone else, sensing what it would be like
to be that person. Rats can show empathy, aptly
unlocking a cage and liberating an incarcerated
fellow rat that is held captive, even when lured to
another place with a cache of chocolate cookies”
(Sanders, 2011).
Sensory experiences stir and inspire our cre-
ative powers. However, it is sometimes not easy
to see whether the imagined is a clue to reality;
for example, if one can imagine flying, does it
mean one could manufacture wings? Emancipa-
tion of the mind from the constraints of actuality
may release freedom to create something: one can
imagine what might be and then decide it ought
to be, and thus conceive an idea. Basic instincts,
sensations, emotions, and intuitions may combine
and complement to support creativity. For art and
poetry, artistic creativity relates to our imagery.
Imagination and creativity are needed in every
professional or academic specialization and dis-
cipline. We live in more and more visual world
because of the ways we learn (online interactive
visuals, videos) and communicate (social network
with exchange of videos and pictures, vimeo,
Skype, Facebook, YouTube). Many agree that
in order to become prepared for the changes in
lifestyle and working habits, we need to expand
our visual literacy and visual imagination, as
they support our creativity, problem-solving, and
problem-finding abilities.
It seems even more difficult to tell where is
a place for talent in working on a formula or a
code, or what makes one torus or knot looking
dramatic and beautiful. How does a visualization
of a formula become a way to convey an intense
message? Why do some hand drawings with hardly
any lines, make a gripping statement while other
look arrogant or cynical? Mental shortcuts, syn-
thetic signs, humor, caricature, or grotesque make
a message even sharper. A realistically drawn dog
has nothing to say to the viewer unless it becomes
a character in a story where imaginary plot shows
what is invisible in nature. Insightful metaphors
address cognitive abilities to abstract the essence
of the message.
