Two somewhat contrasting views of public uses of scientific visualisations argue that they are black-boxed with meaning given by the scientific community or they are polysemic with meaning given by the context of presentation. This paper argues that whether they are treated as black-boxed or not and in what manner this is done is itself part of the meaning given by context. Thus, black-boxing is done not only by scientists but also by members of the public. The argument is illustrated by reference to two recent comic books, Dave Sim's Cerebus and Alan Moore's Promethea, in which the authors present cosmological visions of the universe using scientific visualisations to create a sense of realism. From analysis of their use of images of planet Earth and the human foetus it is argued that, although the images are black-boxed, the authors re-work them aesthetically to suit their specific moral and cosmological views.
...More
Book
Hüppauf, Bernd-Rüdiger;
Weingart, Peter;
(2008)
Science Images and Popular Images of the Sciences
(/isis/citation/CBB001024124/)
Article
Katherine Boyce-Jacino;
(2017)
Space and Spectacle in the Berlin Planetarium, 1926–1930
(/isis/citation/CBB691412279/)
Article
Hirshbein, Laura;
Sarvananda, Sharmalie;
(2008)
History, Power, and Electricity: American Popular Magazine Accounts of Electroconvulsive Therapy, 1940--2005
(/isis/citation/CBB000774199/)
Article
Jia, Hepeng;
Liu, Li;
(2014)
Unbalanced Progress: The Hard Road from Science Popularisation to Public Engagement with Science in China
(/isis/citation/CBB001420043/)
Article
Hochadel, Oliver;
(2013)
A Boom of Bones and Books: The “Popularization Industry” of Atapuerca and Human-Origins Research in Contemporary Spain
(/isis/citation/CBB001320415/)
Article
Jan Domaradzki;
(2023)
From evil demiurge to caring hero: images of geneticists in the movies
(/isis/citation/CBB948371310/)
Book
Miira B. Hill;
(2022)
The New Art of Old Public Science Communication: The Science Slam
(/isis/citation/CBB847395771/)
Book
Fernando Balius;
(2018)
Desmesura. Una historia cotidiana de locura en la ciudad
(/isis/citation/CBB038218613/)
Book
Susan Merrill Squier;
Jenell Johnson;
(2018)
Graphic Reproduction: A Comics Anthology
(/isis/citation/CBB827890000/)
Thesis
Von Burg, Ron;
(2005)
The Cinematic Turn in Public Discussions of Science
(/isis/citation/CBB001560709/)
Article
Bowler, Peter J.;
(2006)
Presidential Address: Experts and Publishers: Writing Popular Science in Early Twentieth-Century Britain, Writing Popular History of Science Now
(/isis/citation/CBB000651494/)
Article
David K. Hecht;
(2021)
Embracing Mystery: Radiation Risks and Popular Science Writing in the Early Cold War
(/isis/citation/CBB155434883/)
Book
LaFollette, Marcel C.;
(2008)
Science on the Air: Popularizers and Personalities on Radio and Early Television
(/isis/citation/CBB000970002/)
Article
Adelene Buckland;
(2021)
Charles Dickens, Man of Science
(/isis/citation/CBB070659844/)
Article
Dörries, Matthias;
(2008)
The “Winter” Analogy Fallacy: From Superbombs to Supervolcanoes
(/isis/citation/CBB000931789/)
Article
Peter Burke;
(2016)
Explosion des Wissens. Ein Gespräch mit Joseph Vogl
(/isis/citation/CBB339448070/)
Article
Gass, Gillian;
(2007)
Spheres of Influence: Illustration, Notation, and John Dalton's Conceptual Toolbox, 1803-1835
(/isis/citation/CBB000772412/)
Book
Kember, Joe;
Plunkett, John;
Sullivan, Jill A.;
(2012)
Popular Exhibitions, Science and Showmanship, 1840--1910
(/isis/citation/CBB001250506/)
Book
Short, John Phillip;
(2012)
Magic Lantern Empire: Colonialism and Society in Germany
(/isis/citation/CBB001201427/)
Article
Oliver Hochadel;
(2022)
Facing Our Ancestors: The Craft of the Paleoartist
(/isis/citation/CBB999136109/)
Be the first to comment!