A cover of the well-renowned graphic novel, Watchmen. Image from wired.com
If only we can format a scholarly article that the general public can read just like something they’ll read on a bus, just like a graphic novel we used to pick up in our childhood…how will our understanding of science be so much more exciting?
Bret Victor, a blogger who holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, have attempted such approach. He tries to re-edit an article published in Nature, a well-known scientific article describing a ‘small-world’ network–a model proving how everyone in a community ‘know’ each other through only with a couple of acquaintances. The original paper describes the algorithm using complex drawings and graphs, but Victor rearranges this paper using mainly the two components we often see in graphic novels:
From there...(Screenshot taken from Nature.com)
...To here! (Screenshot taken from worrydream.com)
1. Panels. Every heading starts a panel and read from left to right, as if a heading is a title of a newspaper comic strip. Also, instead of having only few diagrams, Victor breaks down the diagrams from the original paper into small ‘panels’, each containing a drawing with highlighted parts accompanied by a thorough annotation.
2. Colour/Hue. Victor colours most of the paper’s text in grey, and empathizing keywords and headings in black. Results in the graphs are coloured in red and black as well, clearly showing shapes of the graph. As mentioned in our lecture, colour-coding hasn’t been popular in article publications due to its cost, but as articles are released digitally, Victor’s work portray the future publications may greatly incorporate colours.
In the context of the original paper, Victor’s approach seems intuitive and suggest further inspiration can be drawn from comic books to a formal published media.
And who says analyzing cartoon is pointless? Mr. Scott McCloud will tell you otherwise (image from xconomy.com)
For those who are further interested innovative panel designs on comic strips, I recommend visiting Scott McCloud’s website. Not only are his comic strip narrations unique and experimental, he introduces his fellow comic artists who have discovered innovative ways to effectively deliver stories. I’ve been admiring his work for some time, but it’s only a recent event that I realized that he was featured on TED as well. Take a minute to hear some interesting aspect on his vision of communication.
I remember a class discussion about how the general public will have easier access to the scientific papers, but essentially, they will make a good use of such privilege only if they can understand it adequately. Who knows? We may one day have more young aspiring superheroes reading articles from Cornell University, envisioning the gadgets the Dark Knight manipulates to save a city from criminals (no offence to you, Mr. Wayne).
Sources:
- Original scientific article from Nature: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v393/n6684/pdf/393440a0.pdf
- Bret Victor’s sample of an re-edited article: http://worrydream.com/#!/ScientificCommunicationAsSequentialArt
- Scott McCloud’s website: http://scottmccloud.com/
- Scott McCloud on TED Talk http://www.ted.com/talks/scott_mccloud_on_comics.html
- An image of Scott McCloud’s “self-portrait”: http://www.xconomy.com/national/2008/09/10/the-infinite-canvas-an-interview-with-scott-mccloud-the-google-chrome-comic-guy/attachment/scott_mccloud/
- A reviewer’s analysis on Watchmen’s symmetrical panel layout and its significance in the tragic plot: http://www.destroythecyb.org/an-analysis-of-watchmensymmetry-and-the-tragic-flaw-477.htm
