Note: this is the foreword of the book Data Visualization in Society (Amsterdam University Press, 2020)

注意：这是《 社会中的数据可视化 》一书的前言 (阿姆斯特丹大学出版社，2020年)

Geographer John Pickles once wrote that “GIS is a set of tools, technologies, approaches and ideas that are vitally embedded in broader transformations of science, society, and culture.” That’s true of data visualization too, therefore the relevance of the book that you [will] have in your hands, Data Visualization in Society.

地理学家约翰·皮克尔斯(John Pickles)曾经写道：“地理信息系统(GIS)是一组工具，技术，方法和思想，它们牢固地嵌入了科学，社会和文化的广泛变革中。” 数据可视化也是如此，因此，您[将]掌握的这本书的相关性，即《 社会中的数据可视化》 。

I often joke — although I’m inclined to believe — that a field X reaches maturity when a parallel field of “philosophy of X” springs into existence. That hasn’t happened yet with data visualization, at least formally. Might we be on the path to it, though? I hope so. Some books have paved the way. Think of David J. Staley’s Computers, Visualization, and History, Charles Kostelnick and Michael Hassett’s Shaping Information, and Wolff-Michael Roth’s Toward and Anthropology of Graphing, all from the early 2000’s. Or, more recently, Orit Halpern’s Beautiful Data (2014), Johanna Drucker’s Graphesis (2014), R.J. Andrews’s Info We Trust (2019), Sandra Rendgen and Julius Wiedemann’s History of Information Graphics (2019), or Data Feminism (2020), by Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren Klein, who have also contributed to this volume.

我经常开玩笑-虽然我倾向于相信-一个字段X达到成熟时的弹簧“X哲学”到生存的平行场。 数据可视化还没有发生，至少是正式的。 但是，我们可能会走上这条路吗？ 但愿如此。 有些书铺平了道路。 想一想David J. Staley的《 计算机，可视化和历史》 ，Charles Kostelnick和Michael Hassett的《 Shaping Information 》以及Wolff-Michael Roth的《 Toward and Anthropology of Graphing》 ，都是从2000年代初期开始的。 或者最近， 奥利特·哈珀恩 (Orit Halpern)的《 美丽的数据》 (2014)，约翰娜·德鲁克(Johanna Drucker)的Graphesis (2014)，RJ安德鲁斯的《 信息我们信任》 (2019)，桑德拉·伦根(Sandra Rendgen)和朱利叶斯·维德曼(Julius Wiedemann)的信息图形史 (2019)或数据女权主义 (2020) Catherine D'Ignazio和Lauren Klein也为这一卷做出了贡献。

Books like these prove that writing about visualization doesn’t mean just writing about how to design visualizations, but also about what visualization is, why it is the way it is — and what it could be. Data visualization is a technology — or set of technologies — and, like artifacts such as the clock, the compass, the abacus, or the map, it transforms the way we see and relate to reality. As Langdon Winner suggested in The Whale and the Reactor (1986), a foundational book in the philosophy of technology, to create technologies doesn’t consist just of crafting stuff; rather, when technologies come about “new worlds are being made”. What “new worlds” does visualization generate? That’s a question for a potential philosophy of visualization.

诸如此类的书籍证明，关于可视化的写作不仅意味着撰写有关如何设计可视化的文章，而且还涉及关于可视化是什么 ，为什么如此的方式以及可能的方式。 数据可视化是一项技术或一组技术，并且像时钟，指南针，算盘或地图等人工制品一样，它改变了我们观察和与现实相关的方式。 正如兰登·温纳 (Langdon Winner)在《鲸鱼和React堆》 (1986)中所建议的那样， 这是一本关于技术哲学的基础书籍，创造技术并不仅仅包括手工制作。 相反，当技术问世时“正在创造新世界”。 可视化会产生哪些“新世界”？ 这是潜在的可视化哲学的问题。

A philosophy of visualization may derive themes, methodologies, and language from a wide range of disciplines: not only from the philosophy of technology, but also from epistemology, sociology, semiotics, history, ethics, critical theory fields such as critical cartography, or from the philosophies of science, statistics and, art. Philosophers of visualization should reason about visualization’s history, assumptions, conventions, practices, and impacts on individuals, cultures, and societies. They will combine the observational, descriptive, and hermeneutical — dealing with what currently exists and why, — the normative — asking what should or shouldn’t exist or happen, — and the critical — challenging visualization’s core tenets.

可视化哲学可以从广泛的学科中衍生出主题，方法论和语言：不仅可以从技术哲学中获得，而且还可以从认识论，社会学，符号学，历史，伦理学，批评性制图学等批评性理论领域中获得，或者从科学，统计和艺术哲学。 可视化的哲学家应该考虑可视化的历史，假设，惯例，实践以及对个人，文化和社会的影响。 他们将结合观察性，描述性和诠释性-处理当前存在的内容以及为什么-规范性-询问应该存在或不应该存在或发生什么，以及至关重要的-挑战可视化的核心原则。

Data Visualization in Society is a collection of chapters by scholars and professionals who don’t call themselves philosophers of visualization but who, in practice, operate as such. I see this book as a relevant step toward the possible inception of the philosophy of visualization as a discipline. I hope it will serve as a starting point for many inquiries by other thinkers. This includes myself: I read all chapters with pleasure and took copious notes on the margins. I know these scribbles will later echo in my own work.

社会中的数据可视化是学者和专业人士所撰写的章节的集合，这些学者不称自己为可视化哲学家，但实际上是这样操作的。 我认为这本书是迈向可视化哲学这一学科可能迈出的重要一步。 我希望它可以作为其他思想家进行许多询问的起点。 这包括我自己：我很高兴地阅读了所有章节，并在页边空白处做了很多注释。 我知道这些涂鸦稍后会在我自己的作品中产生回响。

That’s the virtue of the best philosophical writing: it doesn’t aspire to settle matters outright, but to inspire further reflection. Data Visualization in Society may spur questions such as: Does visualization pretend to be “objective”, or is it just wrongly perceived as such? What does “objective” mean in the first place? What is the influence of visualization on politics? Is numeracy — numerical literacy — enough to design or read visualizations? Doesn’t the fact that a substantial portion of the public isn’t numerate — or “graphicate”, graphically literate — deepen existing inequalities and even create new ones? What do we mean when we say that a visualization is “beautiful”? Is the goal of visualization to convey facts and data, or can it also spark profound emotional experiences? If so, how? And many more.

那就是最好的哲学著作的优点：它不是渴望彻底解决问题，而是希望引起更多思考。 社会中的数据可视化可能引发诸如以下的问题：可视化是假装是“客观的”还是只是被错误地认为是这样？ 首先，“目标”是什么意思？ 可视化对政治有何影响？ 计算能力(数字读写能力)是否足以设计或阅读可视化效果？ 很大一部分公众不是数字化或“图形化”，图形化识字的事实不是加深了现有的不平等甚至造成了新的不平等吗？ 当我们说可视化是“美丽的”时，我们是什么意思？ 可视化的目的是传达事实和数据，还是可以激发深刻的情感体验？ 如果是这样，怎么办？ 还有很多。

The variety of topics and approaches of the chapters in this book is astounding, but what most have in common is an open ending: they are links in a chain of reasoning — a dialogue — that extends from the distant past and that, conceivably, and with the contribution of a large critical mass of academics and practitioners of the craft, will continue beyond the foreseeable future. That’s where you come in: do any of these chapters inspire you? Do you agree or disagree with it? Reason why. Argue. Maintain a conversation with the authors. Write and publish, and be open to further responses and critiques. That’s how philosophy begins.

本书各章的主题和方法各异，令人震惊，但它们的最大共同点是开放的结局：它们是推理链中的链接，即对话，它源于遥远的过去，并且可以想象，在大量的手Craft.io学者和实践者的贡献下，将在可预见的未来继续发展。 那就是您的来历：这些章节是否激发了您的灵感？ 您同意还是不同意？ 原因。 争论。 与作者保持对话。 撰写和出版，并欢迎进一步的回应和批评。 这就是哲学的开始。

Alberto Cairo is the Knight Chair at the University of Miami and author of How Charts Lie: Getting Smarter About Visual Information

阿尔贝托·开罗 ( Alberto Cairo)是迈阿密大学的骑士主席，并着有《图表如何说谎：使视觉信息变得更聪明》一书的作者