On creating dimensions...

Here, I will attempt to propose a solution to the problem of visualizing a multidimensional process. Hopefully, this may be applicable to more than just my own MRP, wherein I must attempt to visualize a multidimensional pathology, and may be applicable to other complex scientific knowledge.

In my own case, I am dealing with a pathological process that involves a multitude of locales. These locales may first be identified by their anatomical location. Secondly, they may be identified by their scale, in the sense that the pathology can be observed macroscopically, microscopically, and anywhere in between. Finally, they be pinpointed in time, starting from a normal to a pathological state and ending in the eradication of pathology or the termination of the patient.

By breaking down the pathology of bone cancer pain into these locales, I came to realize that I could organize them into 3 distinct categories. As hinted in the previous paragraph, the categories are: scale, location, and time.

Now, to backtrack a little... It was during the process of breaking down the components of bone cancer pain that I was trying to find a way to present all the material in a manner than didn't overwhelm the viewer (see previous post). I had been toying with the idea of interactivity and scene selection, so that the viewer may decide what they wanted to see. Essentially, the idea was to break down the content into clips - like chapters in a book - so that they could learn in segments.

However, this chapters-in-a-book idea was not very appealing... I mean... it's like a textbook... with chapters. The end product would not be all that different from having a a pause/play button... But, then, out of nowhere I got an idea.

Recall that the scientific content could be broken down into locales, and these locales could be organized into three categories: time, scale, location. And with each category, the locales could be arranged in a linear order. With time, the locales could be arranged from before to after. With scale, the locales could be arrange from gross to microscopic. With location, the locales could be arranged from peripheral or central.

Now consider this. Visualize a multidimensional process in multiple dimensions. That is, why not visualize time, scale and location as if they were each their own axis!

(Explanation coming next.)

Round table 2

In attendence: Philippe, and I

I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Philippe Sarret and a couple of students from his lab during the M2C pain summer camp. Over a cup of leek soup, plate of salmon, and sugar ridden desert, we talked about an interesting idea...

As with many pathologies, the physiology is only a small part of the picture. In order to gain a full understanding of the topic, one needs to understand the etiology, pathology, anatomy (both gross and microscopic), intracellular biomolecular chemistry, etc. In our case, in bone cancer pain, we must deal with two pathologies, that of the cancer, and that of pain.

During my readings, I came to realize that animations may be very useful in understanding scientific processes in the way that they laid out the various elements into a logical, chronological story (Mayer and Moreno, 2002). Animations are successful in this task because it helps the viewer make connections between the various components of the story; it is especially successful in telling processes with strong before and after scenarios. Unfortunately animations encounter pitfalls when the process becomes too complicated or multidimensional. At the point when the animation is too long or too complicated, the viewer can no longer retain the information presented, and thus, they can no longer make associations between the various components of the scientific process at hand.

This problem was brought up during my conversation with Dr. Sarret. And, I have decided to propose a possible solution to this problem... (see next post)