A new blog post on the Shape of Thought blog takes an illustrated look at various trees which have appeared and reappeared in visual representations over the centuries. This complements some interesting pages on our SpicyNodes site on navigating maps, natural spaces, and browsing hierarchies.\n

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The tree is history’s most enduring symbol, one that demonstrates beautifully how our visual representations are shaped by human perception.  We use shapes to visualize knowledge. These visualizations, in turn, shape the way we perceive the world.  Using the Shape of Thought Approach, we can see how history and the leading edge meet in a universal image that has transformed as humanity has transformed.

\nThe Shape of Thought blog is written by Bonnie DeVarco & Eileen Clegg, and they have a companion book in progress also. Their blog looks at  humanity’s signs, symbols and artifacts. Bonnie is a researcher, writer, educator, virtual world developer, and education technology consultant, and has been involved in various distance and media enhanced learning for the University of California, and she founded the VLearn3D initiative. Eileen Clegg is a visual journalist and founder of Visual Insight, a consultancy that specializes in creating giant murals loosely based on concept maps.\n