Looking at the network with no groupings was an eyesore. The individuals (dark nodes all the same size) and tracks (light nodes of different sizes) came together to create too many nodes. This then created too many edges, and a messy looking network. One could zoom in to a certain section and pull off some data, but when I attempted this I found it frustrating and gave up. For me, the easy outcomes I drew from this initial network was track 18: Fifth Symphony cracked our top ten list most often, while track 8: Men’s House Song the least (or at least close to the least). This was easily determined by looking at the size of the node.

The screenshot below grouped myself with Terri-Lynn McLoed and Victoria Cameron because we had some common choices on our lists. However, unless I am missing something obvious, the visualization here does not show the reason behind our choices. Without knowing the reason, we don’t have an answer as to why the tracks should be included. We don’t even know how strongly we each feel about the track. The three of us picked the percussion track, but this could have been my first choice for tracks on the Golden Record and been their last pick. This small grouping also does not show the full degree of connectivity, which was discussed in the videos we were required to view this week. For example, The three of us picked track 4: Pygmy Girl’s Initiation Song, but this network does not show how many other nodes it is connected to. It may have been all of our classmates, or none. This track, along with some others put us in a group of common choices, but doesn’t show how our choices relate to our classmates.

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When looking at networks many strong statements can be produced. Someone could say the Fifth Symphony represents our cohorts opinion. When in reality it may have been a common 9th or 10th pick. Of course one can argue that this still does represent the cohorts opinion. However, if we sent one track to another universe to represent our planet, our cohort may be disappointed with the Fifth Symphony. I contemplated how we interpret statements from news networks. Statements made to represent group opinions, national opinions and cultural opinions. We hear statements that are misleading and don’t represent the full picture due to the way data was gathered in a network.