Narratives of Space and Time

I was a bit confused about some of the language used in the article. Just what are “four-variable narrations of space-time”? The hyphenated terms are not something I am used to working with. Then I noticed in the previous sentence the reference to “the world’s workaday reality of three-space and time”, in other words, the three dimensions of space + time = four variable of space-time. It is just simple arithmetic! It took me awhile to realize that we had already been working with these ideas when looking at time-series graphs and in particular the time-series of Napolean’s March to St. Petersburg which relates both time and space information but also forward and backward motion.
It was interesting to see how Galileo’s observations were eventually presented so that this knowledge could be understood and passed on. The printing press was still the latest technological innovation at the time so it would be natural to simply collate and organize the data into a table and print it. The 1668 Cassini example in the article is effective in the fact that it fixes a time, 10:00 PM, and the position of Jupiter and shows the relative positions of Jupiter’s satellites over a period of nine days. In a way, each of the rows of the table is a small-multiple that makes for a quick comparison of the satellite positions. The same can be said of the Connaissance des Temps example of 1767. However, presentation of data in this format is static and fails to provide the reviewer with information on the specific movements of the satellites which is the major point of the data: the satellites are moving around the planet! Galileo and other mechanically minded engineers attempt to solve this problem by building watch-like models of the movements of the celestial bodies. This method was in keeping with the view of the universe as a well-ordered machine that was in vogue at the time and suited the mentality of a scientist and engineer. It also could be easily understood by any mildly educated person when observed in operation, however, it was not congenial to replication and dissemination. The development of the spiral grids over time were a much more elegant solution since the satellite movements could be clearly indicated on a flat surface. In a way, it was an artistic solution, one that combined scientific data with artistic expression.
A similar type of artistic solution if offered in theCzechoslovakian Air Transport Company map/schedule. The graphic map of the airports and flight paths is very easy to understand at first sight. Its geographical layout is effective in determining how one might get from one location to another. I particularly like the split arrows at the ends of the lines for two-way flights showing both arrival and departure times. This type of schedule works well for the limited number of flights available in 1933, but would quickly become unworkable as the number of flights increased. As it is, the space for listing the flight times within the circles is very limited, the major weakness of the design.
The examples with the serpentine data formations spilling over and around the surface of the graphic were fun. It would be a great way to comically emphasize data in a design. They certainly anticipated billboards that were outfitted with appendages to draw attention by breaking out of the rectangle.