Hierarchy as a lens

Lensing into the underlying network

pov-lensing.png

A complex network sitting in the middle of an entirely-circling array of lenses — a lensed network. Four lenses are blue and numbered, with parts of the system likewise shifted to blue with a 'central' node having a number that corresponds to a lens. One lens is black, with a subset network also black. Outside the black lens, looking in, is an eye of perception.

Networks are closing in on the quality of truth, but hierarchies are still a truth — a perceptual truth. Multiple hierarchies into the same network are truths about that network, even if no data point is shared. 

In my work, I look at hierarchies as windows or doorways or lenses. An opening or view is an overall good thing. It effectively chunks an information structure so its not as overwhelming. Chunking is one of the most useful thing we can do to aid memory development.

There are some big dangers with pulling hierarchical structures out of networks from a behavioral perspective:

My long-term synthesis and understanding, especially when considering the entire process of building complex software and content for users while making team lives easier.

perspective lens:
cognitive bias, context, garbage-in, meaning, memory, ripen