Networks between facts & concepts
Marianne van den Boomen
Natural networks
Cultural networks
Nature: physical, organic & neuronal networks
Culture: social, technical & media networks
Networks may be facts…
but also
abstract concepts….
A network is a set of links/relations
between elements/nodesof a unit
Networks everywhere
Network definition
Dots stand for?Lines stand for?Colors stand for?Circles stand for?
source:form
target:anything
target:internet
source:highway
Networks as metaphors
3 root metaphors for networks
1.Telegraph 2. Nerve system 3. Diagram
1. Telegraph metaphor
Telegraph: roads, pipes, wires, channels
• empty infrastructure for possible traffic
• homogeneous nodes & connection paths/lines
1. Telegraph metaphor
• external control by architecture, rules & protocol
• example: electronic highway
2. Nerve metaphor
Nervous system (ecosystem, cells, DNA, brains, life)
• organic emergence of structure, elements & traffic
• heterogeneous nodes & connections/relations
2. Nerve metaphor
• internal control by adaptation, mutual shaping, feedback & (self)organization
• example: cyberspace
3. Diagram metaphor
• abstract representation of relations/’links’
• maps of nodes & links: visual patterns
3. Diagram metaphor
• examples: data traffic – Twitter centers – social ties - cell metabolism - movie actors - scientific citations – hyperlinks
• control: internal, external?
Network: factual or conceptual?
Phenomenon: ecosystem Model/metaphor: network diagram
Metaphor = theory
Model/metaphor
Theory
Phenomenon
Network theory = network politics
Theory/model: for example rhizome
(or power law, or protocol,or evolution,etc)
‘Phenomenon’: network