Response Tufte Ch. 1, Ch3

After reading the assigned test the assignment just keeps getting clearer and clearer. I am finding all the readings helpful and aiding my ideas for my project. Looking at the diagrams I am finding that the presentation, not necessarily the content, is very important. Many of the diagrams show things in a very convincing manner, yet if you look deeper you see that some of them are utter nonsense. It's back to the challenging authority. In magic, you convince the viewer by distracting them from the truth and in our projects we aim to create a system of authority by using standard means, but they aren't true and it tricks the user to question all forms of authority.

It all makes me think people who are considered authorities in scientific communities. Honestly, if I went and listened to a lecture of some authoritative figure on a topic I had never heard of and probably could never understand, he/she could probably say anything and I would believe it. That's how much trust we put in these people. I mean when is the last time a car repair man said "You've got a unicorn in you exhaust and its been jumping around poking holes everywhere... it's gonna be $500 bucks to fix it." I know that's a little extreme, but allot of people would just nod and pay because they want a working car and they know nothing about auto repair. I think allot of people just nod to authority because they that what society tells them to do. I think it is going to be exciting to challenge that authority in this project.

Enough of my rant. The reading was very helpful. Many of the illustrations have given me ideas on how to display my work, not only in 2D but 3D as well. I just hope I can pull it off exactly what I want in one semester. :)