Observations Concerning Practical Visual Languages

Abstract

Normal means of communication—human languages—are very well suited to a description of linear order. As one makes use of the verbal system in almost all spheres of culture, there follows involuntarily an orientation to certain regularities. One tends to recognize chronological and casual orders and to overlook other types of connections. According to modern knowledge other relationships have at least as much importance in our world, e.g., reciprocity effects, feedback, and cyclical process. For the description of all so-called network connections, one needs a more visual coding system. In the verbal realm a complex system exists that is distinguished by its applicability to a great number of conditions, but there are only starting points in the visual sector. It is to be expected that there will gradually come into existence a normal visual grammar. In this way, new visual languages may develop which are as practical as verbal languages. Starting points can be seen in diagrams for automata that are used in general automata theory. As a step in this direction examples should be examined which have already proven successful in scientific realms, namely representation by graphs and by Venn diagrams.