Over the past 10 years, I've been researching the way people organize and visualize information. And I've noticed an interesting shift.
Tokom proteklih 10 godina, istraživao sam način na koji ljudi organizuju i vizualizuju informacije. Primetio sam interesantnu promenu.
For a long period of time, we believed in a natural ranking order in the world around us, also known as the great chain of being, or "Scala naturae" in Latin, a top-down structure that normally starts with God at the very top, followed by angels, noblemen, common people, animals, and so on. This idea was actually based on Aristotle's ontology, which classified all things known to man in a set of opposing categories, like the ones you see behind me. But over time, interestingly enough, this concept adopted the branching schema of a tree in what became known as the Porphyrian tree, also considered to be the oldest tree of knowledge.
Tokom dužeg perioda, verovali smo u prirodni poredak u svetu oko nas, što je poznato i kao veliki lanac bića ili „scala naturae“ na latinskom, struktura odozgo na dole koja obično počinje od boga na samom vrhu, koga slede anđeli, plemići, obični ljudi, životinje i tako dalje. Ova ideja je zapravo zasnovana na Aristotelovoj ontologiji koja je klasifikovala sve poznato čoveku u skup suprotnih kategorija, poput onih koje vidite iza mene. Međutim, vremenom, što je zanimljivo, ovaj koncept je usvojio šemu stabla koje se grana u okviru onog što je postalo poznato kao Porfirijevo stablo, što se takođe smatra najstarijim stablom znanja.
The branching scheme of the tree was, in fact, such a powerful metaphor for conveying information that it became, over time, an important communication tool to map a variety of systems of knowledge. We can see trees being used to map morality, with the popular tree of virtues and tree of vices, as you can see here, with these beautiful illustrations from medieval Europe. We can see trees being used to map consanguinity, the various blood ties between people. We can also see trees being used to map genealogy, perhaps the most famous archetype of the tree diagram. I think many of you in the audience have probably seen family trees. Many of you probably even have your own family trees drawn in such a way. We can see trees even mapping systems of law, the various decrees and rulings of kings and rulers. And finally, of course, also a very popular scientific metaphor, we can see trees being used to map all species known to man. And trees ultimately became such a powerful visual metaphor because in many ways, they really embody this human desire for order, for balance, for unity, for symmetry.
Šema stabla koje se grana bila je, zapravo, tako moćna metafora za prenošenje informacija da je vremenom postala važno sredstvo komunikacije za mapiranje mnoštva sistema znanja. Možemo videti kako se stabla koriste da bi se napravila mapa moralnosti, sa popularnim stablom vrline i stablom poroka, kao što možete videti ovde, na ovim prelepim ilustracijama iz srednjevekovne Evrope. Možemo videti kako se stabla koriste za mapiranje ukrštanja u srodstvu, raznih krvnih veza među ljudima. Takođe možemo videti da se stabla koriste za mape rodoslova, što je možda najpoznatiji arhetip dijagrama stabla. Mislim da su mnogi od vas u publici verovatno videli porodična stabla. Mnogi među vama čak imaju nacrtana takva porodična stabla. Možemo videti da stabla čak služe za mape sistema zakona, razne uredbe i odluke kraljeva i vladara. Najzad, naravno, kao veoma popularna naučna metafora, možemo videti da se stabla koriste za izradu mapa svih vrsta poznatih čoveku. Stabla su na kraju postala tako snažna vizuelna metafora jer ona umnogome oličavaju ljudsku želju za redom, ravnotežom, jedinstvom, simetrijom.
However, nowadays we are really facing new complex, intricate challenges that cannot be understood by simply employing a simple tree diagram. And a new metaphor is currently emerging, and it's currently replacing the tree in visualizing various systems of knowledge. It's really providing us with a new lens to understand the world around us. And this new metaphor is the metaphor of the network. And we can see this shift from trees into networks in many domains of knowledge.
Međutim, danas se zaista suočavamo sa novim složenim, zamršenim izazovima koji se ne mogu razumeti primenom jednostavnog dijagrama stabla. Trenutno je nova metafora u nastajanju i sada zamenjuje stablo u vizualizaciji različitih sistema znanja. Zaista nam pruža novu perspektivu za razumevanje sveta oko nas. Ta nova metafora je metafora mreže. Možemo videti ovaj preokret od stabala u mreže u mnogim domenima znanja.
We can see this shift in the way we try to understand the brain. While before, we used to think of the brain as a modular, centralized organ, where a given area was responsible for a set of actions and behaviors, the more we know about the brain, the more we think of it as a large music symphony, played by hundreds and thousands of instruments. This is a beautiful snapshot created by the Blue Brain Project, where you can see 10,000 neurons and 30 million connections. And this is only mapping 10 percent of a mammalian neocortex. We can also see this shift in the way we try to conceive of human knowledge.
Možemo videti ovaj preokret u načinu na koji pokušavamo da razumemo mozak. Dok smo ranije razmišljali o mozgu kao o modularnom, centralizovanom organu, gde je određena oblast odgovorna za skup akcija i ponašanja, što više saznajemo o mozgu, sve više razmišljamo o njemu kao o velikoj muzičkoj simfoniji koju sviraju stotine i hiljade instrumenata. Ovo je divna slika koju je sačinio projekat „Plavi mozak“, gde možete videti 10 000 neurona i 30 miliona veza. Ovo mapira svega 10 procenata neokorteksa sisara. Možemo videti ovu promenu i u načinu na koji pokušavamo da zamislimo ljudsko znanje.
These are some remarkable trees of knowledge, or trees of science, by Spanish scholar Ramon Llull. And Llull was actually the precursor, the very first one who created the metaphor of science as a tree, a metaphor we use every single day, when we say, "Biology is a branch of science," when we say, "Genetics is a branch of science." But perhaps the most beautiful of all trees of knowledge, at least for me, was created for the French encyclopedia by Diderot and d'Alembert in 1751. This was really the bastion of the French Enlightenment, and this gorgeous illustration was featured as a table of contents for the encyclopedia. And it actually maps out all domains of knowledge as separate branches of a tree.
Ovo su izuzetna stabla znanja ili stabla nauke španskog učenjaka Ramona Ljulja. Ljulj je zapravo bio preteča, prvi koji je stvorio metaforu o nauci kao stablu, metaforu koju koristimo svakodnevno kada kažemo: „Biologija je grana nauke“, kada kažemo: „Genetika je grana nauke“. Možda najlepše stablo znanja, barem za mene, napravili su za francusku enciklopediju Didro i Dalamber 1751. godine. Ovo je zaista bio uporište francuskog prosvetiteljstva, a ova divna ilustracija izabrana je kao sadržaj za enciklopediju. Ona zapravo mapira sva područja znanja kao odvojene grane na stablu.
But knowledge is much more intricate than this. These are two maps of Wikipedia showing the inter-linkage of articles -- related to history on the left, and mathematics on the right. And I think by looking at these maps and other ones that have been created of Wikipedia -- arguably one of the largest rhizomatic structures ever created by man -- we can really understand how human knowledge is much more intricate and interdependent, just like a network.
Ipak, znanje je mnogo složenije od toga. Ovo su dve mape Vikipedije koje pokazuju međusobnu povezanost članaka - vezanih za istoriju sa leve strane, a za matematiku na desnoj strani. Smatram da, kada pogledam ove mape i druge koje su napravljene pomoću Vikipedije - možda jedne od najvećih rizomatskih struktura koje je stvorio čovek - možemo zaista razumeti kako je ljudsko znanje mnogo složenije i međuzavisno, baš kao mreža.
We can also see this interesting shift in the way we map social ties between people. This is the typical organization chart. I'm assuming many of you have seen a similar chart as well, in your own corporations, or others. It's a top-down structure that normally starts with the CEO at the very top, and where you can drill down all the way to the individual workmen on the bottom. But humans sometimes are, well, actually, all humans are unique in their own way, and sometimes you really don't play well under this really rigid structure.
Takođe, možemo videti ovu zanimljivu promenu u načinu na koji mapiramo društvene veze među ljudima. Ovo je tipična organizaciona šema. Pretpostavljam da su mnogi od vas takođe videli slične šeme, u svojim korporacijama ili nekim drugim. To je struktura usmerena odozgo na dole koja obično počinje direktorom na vrhu, a odatle se možete spuštati sve do pojedinačnih radnika na dnu. Međutim, ljudi su ponekad, pa, zapravo, svi ljudi su jedinstveni na svoj način, a ponekad se ne odigra sve baš dobro u okviru ove krute strukture.
I think the Internet is really changing this paradigm quite a lot. This is a fantastic map of online social collaboration between Perl developers. Perl is a famous programming language, and here, you can see how different programmers are actually exchanging files, and working together on a given project. And here, you can notice that this is a completely decentralized process -- there's no leader in this organization, it's a network.
Mislim da internet prilično menja ovaj obrazac. Ovo je fantastična mapa onlajn društvenih saradnja između programera Perla. Perl je poznati programski jezik, a ovde možete videti kako različiti programeri razmenjuju fajlove i zajedno rade na datom projektu. Ovde možete primetiti da je ovo sasvim decentralizovan proces. Nema vođe u ovoj organizaciji; to je mreža.
We can also see this interesting shift when we look at terrorism. One of the main challenges of understanding terrorism nowadays is that we are dealing with decentralized, independent cells, where there's no leader leading the whole process. And here, you can actually see how visualization is being used. The diagram that you see behind me shows all the terrorists involved in the Madrid attack in 2004. And what they did here is, they actually segmented the network into three different years, represented by the vertical layers that you see behind me. And the blue lines tie together the people that were present in that network year after year. So even though there's no leader per se, these people are probably the most influential ones in that organization, the ones that know more about the past, and the future plans and goals of this particular cell.
Možemo videti ovu interesantnu promenu i kada sagledamo terorizam. Jedan od glavnih izazova u razumevanju terorizma danas je da imamo posla sa decentralizovanim, nezavisnim ćelijama, gde ne postoji vođa koji rukovodi celim procesom. Ovde možete zapravo videti kako se vizualizacija koristi. Dijagram koji vidite iza mene prikazuje sve teroriste uključene u napade u Madridu 2004. godine. Ovde su zapravo podelili mrežu na tri različite godine, predstavljene vertikalnim slojevima koje vidite iza mene. Plave linije povezuju ljude koji su bili prisutni u toj mreži iz godine u godinu. Dakle, iako ne postoji vođa sam po sebi, ti ljudi su verovatno najuticajniji u toj organizaciji, oni koji znaju više o prošlim i budućim planovima i ciljevima ove konkretne ćelije.
We can also see this shift from trees into networks in the way we classify and organize species. The image on the right is the only illustration that Darwin included in "The Origin of Species," which Darwin called the "Tree of Life." There's actually a letter from Darwin to the publisher, expanding on the importance of this particular diagram. It was critical for Darwin's theory of evolution. But recently, scientists discovered that overlaying this tree of life is a dense network of bacteria, and these bacteria are actually tying together species that were completely separated before, to what scientists are now calling not the tree of life, but the web of life, the network of life.
Takođe, možemo videti ovaj zaokret iz stabala u mreže u načinu na koji klasifikujemo i organizujemo vrste. Slika na desnoj strani je jedina ilustracija koju je Darvin uneo u „Poreklo vrsta“, koju je nazvao „drvo života“. Zapravo, tu je pismo od Darvina za izdavače koje proširuje značaj tog konkretnog dijagrama. Bilo je od ključnog značaja za Darvinovu teoriju evolucije. Međutim, nedavno su naučnici otkrili da ovo drvo života prekriva gusta mreža bakterija, a te bakterije zapravo povezuju vrste koje su pre bile potpuno odvojene, u ono što naučnici sada ne nazivaju stablom, već mrežom života.
And finally, we can really see this shift, again, when we look at ecosystems around our planet. No more do we have these simplified predator-versus-prey diagrams we have all learned at school. This is a much more accurate depiction of an ecosystem. This is a diagram created by Professor David Lavigne, mapping close to 100 species that interact with the codfish off the coast of Newfoundland in Canada. And I think here, we can really understand the intricate and interdependent nature of most ecosystems that abound on our planet.
Konačno, zaista možemo videti ovu promenu, još jednom, kada pogledamo ekosisteme širom naše planete. Više nemamo ove pojednostavljene dijagrame „predator naspram plena“ koje smo svi izučavali u školi. Ovo je mnogo precizniji prikaz ekosistema. Ovo je dijagram koji je sačinio profesor Dejvid Lavinj, napravivši mapu približno 100 vrsta u interakciji sa bakalarom blizu obale Njufaundlenda u Kanadi. Mislim da ovde možemo zaista razumeti složenu i međuzavisnu prirodu većine ekosistema kojima naša planeta obiluje.
But even though recent, this metaphor of the network, is really already adopting various shapes and forms, and it's almost becoming a growing visual taxonomy. It's almost becoming the syntax of a new language. And this is one aspect that truly fascinates me. And these are actually 15 different typologies I've been collecting over time, and it really shows the immense visual diversity of this new metaphor. And here is an example. On the very top band, you have radial convergence, a visualization model that has become really popular over the last five years. At the top left, the very first project is a gene network, followed by a network of IP addresses -- machines, servers -- followed by a network of Facebook friends. You probably couldn't find more disparate topics, yet they are using the same metaphor, the same visual model, to map the never-ending complexities of its own subject. And here are a few more examples of the many I've been collecting, of this growing visual taxonomy of networks.
Međutim, iako je skorašnja, ova metafora mreže već prisvaja nove oblike i forme i gotovo da postaje rastuća vizuelna taksonomija. Gotovo da postaje sintaksa novog jezika. To je aspekt koji me stvarno fascinira. Ovo je 15 različitih tipologija koje sam prikupljao vremenom i zaista prikazuju neizmernu vizuelnu raznolikost ove nove metafore. Evo primera. Na samom vrhu skupa, imate radijalnu konvergenciju, model vizualizacije koji je postao veoma popularan poslednjih pet godina. Gore levo, prvi projekat je mreža gena, nakon čega sledi mreža IP adresa - mašine, serveri - a zatim mreža prijatelja na Fejsbuku. Verovatno ne možete naći teme koje su više odvojene, a ipak koriste istu metaforu, isti vizuelni model, da bi sačinile mapu beskrajnih složenosti svojih tema. Evo još nekoliko primera od mnogih koje sam prikupljao, vizuelne taksonomije mreža koja je u porastu.
But networks are not just a scientific metaphor. As designers, researchers, and scientists try to map a variety of complex systems, they are in many ways influencing traditional art fields, like painting and sculpture, and influencing many different artists. And perhaps because networks have this huge aesthetical force to them -- they're immensely gorgeous -- they are really becoming a cultural meme, and driving a new art movement, which I've called "networkism." And we can see this influence in this movement in a variety of ways. This is just one of many examples, where you can see this influence from science into art. The example on your left side is IP-mapping, a computer-generated map of IP addresses; again -- servers, machines. And on your right side, you have "Transient Structures and Unstable Networks" by Sharon Molloy, using oil and enamel on canvas. And here are a few more paintings by Sharon Molloy, some gorgeous, intricate paintings.
Međutim, mreže nisu samo naučna metafora. Dok dizajneri, istraživači i naučnici pokušavaju da mapiraju mnoštvo kompleksnih sistema, oni na mnogo načina utiču na tradicionalne oblasti umetnosti poput slikarstva i vajarstva, i utiču na mnogo različitih umetnika. Možda zato što mreže imaju tu ogromnu estetsku snagu - neizmerno su lepe - postaju vrsta kulturnog mema i pokreću novi pokret u umetnosti koji sam nazvao „mrežizam“. Možemo videti ovaj uticaj u ovom pokretu na mnogo načina. Ovo je samo jedan od mnogo primera gde možete videti uticaj nauke na umetnost. Primer sa vaše leve strane je mapiranje internet protokola, mapa IP adresa koju je napravio kompjuter; opet, serveri, mašine. A sa vaše desne strane imate „Prolazne strukture i nestabilne mreže“ autora Šeron Moloj, koja koristi ulje i emajl na platnu. Evo još nekoliko slika Šeron Moloj, nekih divnih, složenih slika.
And here's another example of that interesting cross-pollination between science and art. On your left side, you have "Operation Smile." It is a computer-generated map of a social network. And on your right side, you have "Field 4," by Emma McNally, using only graphite on paper. Emma McNally is one of the main leaders of this movement, and she creates these striking, imaginary landscapes, where you can really notice the influence from traditional network visualization.
Evo još jednog primera tog zanimljivog uzajamnog prenošenja između nauke i umetnosti. Na levoj strani imate „Operaciju 'Osmeh'“. To je mapa društvene mreže koju je napravio kompjuter. Na vašoj desnoj strani, imate „Polje 4“ autora Eme Maknali, koje je sačinjeno samo pomoću grafita na papiru. Ema Maknali spada u glavne predvodnike ovog pokreta i stvara ove upečatljive, imaginarne prizore, gde zaista možete primetiti uticaj tradicionalne vizualizacije mreža.
But networkism doesn't happen only in two dimensions. This is perhaps one of my favorite projects of this new movement. And I think the title really says it all -- it's called: "Galaxies Forming Along Filaments, Like Droplets Along the Strands of a Spider's Web." And I just find this particular project to be immensely powerful. It was created by Tomás Saraceno, and he occupies these large spaces, creates these massive installations using only elastic ropes. As you actually navigate that space and bounce along those elastic ropes, the entire network kind of shifts, almost like a real organic network would.
Međutim, mrežizam se ne odvija samo u dve dimenzije. Ovo je možda jedan od mojih omiljenih projekata ovog novog pokreta. Mislim da naslov već sve govori. Naziva se „Galaksije se formiraju duž filamenata kao kapljice uz niti paukove mreže“. Smatram da je ovaj konkretan projekat izuzetno moćan. Stvorio ga je Tomas Saraseno i zauzima ogroman prostor, stvara te masivne instalacije koristeći samo elastične konopce. Dok se krećete tim prostorom i poskakujete na tim elastičnim konopcima, čitava mreža se nekako menja, gotovo kao što bi to činila stvarna organska mreža.
And here's yet another example of networkism taken to a whole different level. This was created by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota in a piece called "In Silence." And Chiharu, like Tomás Saraceno, fills these rooms with this dense network, this dense web of elastic ropes and black wool and thread, sometimes including objects, as you can see here, sometimes even including people, in many of her installations.
Evo još jednog primera mrežizma koji prelazi na potpuno drugačiji nivo. Ovo je napravila japanska umetnica Čijaru Šiota u okviru dela pod imenom „U tišini“. Čijaru je, kao i Tomas Saraseno, ispunila prostorije gustom mrežom, zbijenom mrežom elastičnih užadi, crne vune i niti, ponekad obuhvatajući predmete, kao što možete videti ovde, a ponekad čak i obuhvatajući ljude, u mnogim od njenih instalacija.
But networks are also not just a new trend, and it's too easy for us to dismiss it as such. Networks really embody notions of decentralization, of interconnectedness, of interdependence. And this new way of thinking is critical for us to solve many of the complex problems we are facing nowadays, from decoding the human brain, to understanding the vast universe out there. On your left side, you have a snapshot of a neural network of a mouse -- very similar to our own at this particular scale. And on your right side, you have the Millennium Simulation. It was the largest and most realistic simulation of the growth of cosmic structure. It was able to recreate the history of 20 million galaxies in approximately 25 terabytes of output. And coincidentally or not, I just find this particular comparison between the smallest scale of knowledge -- the brain -- and the largest scale of knowledge -- the universe itself -- to be really quite striking and fascinating. Because as Bruce Mau once said, "When everything is connected to everything else, for better or for worse, everything matters."
Ipak, mreže nisu samo novi trend, a veoma nam je lako da ih odbacimo kao takve. Mreže zapravo oličavaju ideje decentralizacije, međusobne povezanosti, međuzavisnosti. Taj novi način razmišljanja je ključan da bismo rešili mnoge složene probleme sa kojima se suočavamo danas, od dekodiranja ljudskog mozga do razumevanja ogromnog univerzuma. Na levoj strani imate sliku neuralne mreže miša - vrlo slične našoj na ovom konkretnom nivou. Na desnoj strani imate „Milenijumsku simulaciju“. To je bila najveća i najrealističnija simulacija rasta kosmičke strukture. Bio sam u mogućnosti da iznova stvorim istoriju 20 miliona galaksija za otprilike 25 terabajta izlazne vrednosti. Slučajno ili ne, smatram da je ovo konkretno poređenje između znanja na najmanjem nivou, mozga, i znanja na najvećem nivou, samog univerzuma, zaista izvanredno i fascinantno. Jer, kao što je Brus Mau jednom rekao: „Kada je sve povezano sa svim ostalim, u dobru i u zlu, sve je bitno.“
Thank you so much.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)