REPLY Information display challenge (SD6524)

[SDMAIL Joel Rahn]

Posted by  Joel Rahn <jrahn at sympatico.ca>

The graphical wizardry on display on the linked website is colorful, 
interesting, engaging and 'two-thirds' of it can be done in current 
SD modeling systems: The display of two (indexed) variables over time 
on two axes is a standard feature of Vensim, for example. What 
requires more work is putting multiple pairs of variables (e.g. 
fertility and GDP per capita, indexed by country) on the same graph 
and what is missing in standard SD packages is the ability to add a 
third dimension (population, indexed by country) to drive the size of 
the 'symbol' (a circle, say).

None of this wizardry has anything to say about the relationship 
between structure and behaviour which is the subject of the following 
paragraph lifted from the QUERY message:

> Rather than argue whether Causal Loop Diagrams or Stock and Flow
> Diagrams are best perhaps its is time to admit that neither is
> adequate.  Perhaps its time for SD to look outside the field (and the
> box) for more effective  graphical display paradigms that handles all
> critical information that needs to be transmitted to an audience
> equally well.

The TED website's demonstration presents the 'critical information' 
selected by the extremely accomplished and charming presenter using a 
sophisticated graphics package as a front-end for a complex data engine. 
Some SD models could use those kinds of resources but we still have a 
lot of work to do identifying the dynamically 'critical' information to 
be displayed and then figuring out how to display it to best effect.

Joel Rahn
Posted by  Joel Rahn <jrahn at sympatico.ca>
posting date  Thu, 23 Aug 2007 15:58:51 -0400