Peering through the lens of imagination: how science learned to see
"You must know the past to grasp the present" - Carl Sagan
Even in the dimmest corridors of human history, that is long before “science” even became a word, we can find evidence of humanity’s desire to understand and communicate the mysteries of the natural world—a desire that found a voice in visual representation. To appreciate the evolution of visualization in the sciences, let’s rewind to prehistoric times. And from there, let’s traverse the ages and explore the contributions of some of the artists and scientists who pioneered the art of depicting the natural world.
We’ll also stop and look at a few milestones—randomly chosen landmark discoveries (some pivotal, others simply intriguing)—which contributed to the development of tools and methods that allow us today to visualize everything, spanning from the subatomic to the galactic, analyzing data sets from the smallest to the largest.
In prehistoric times—and this we all know—visual representation emerged through cave paintings; like those in Chauvet and Bhimbetka, portraying animals and reptiles. As settled communities arose, abstract concepts found expression in illustrations. Case in point: a map, as in the Babylonian clay tablet. Advancements in materials and techniques led to more detailed depictions of the natural world, such as the ancient Egyptian Green Room. We can observe from such early artifacts—depicting concepts ranging from geometric figures for calculations to celestial charts and navigational maps—our growing understanding of the world and a desire to explore beyond one’s immediate surroundings.
With the Middle Ages came treatises featuring meticulous illustrations, enabled by the printing press. The Renaissance witnessed a leap in quality with artists like Leonhart Fuchs and Maria Sibylla Merian producing realistic depictions of plants and insects. Notable contributions to natural history illustrations continued with John James Audubon, Elizabeth Gould, and Ernst Haeckel.
Anatomical illustrations too progressed similarly. Artists and physicians would collaborate to produce paintings, drawings, and sculptures of the human body. In some cases, such as that of Da Vinci, artists would dissect bodies themselves. Physician-artists like Vesalius, challenged the old guard, correcting wrongly held notions, with accurate illustrations. Modern masters like Brödel and Netter built on this, while Kahn's metaphors like Man as Machine made complex science accessible to the public.
With the development of the microscope, emerged a new field of science. Robert Hooke's Micrographia revealed the microscopic world of cells. Leeuwenhoek, in 1675, using even better microscopes, captured the microbial world of bacteria, protozoa, red blood cells, and more, through detailed drawings (with the help of local illustrators). Santiago Ramón y Cajal would observe sections of the brain using microscopy and draw what he perceived (such beautiful illustrations!). This led him to postulate the neuron doctrine, which laid the foundations of modern neuroanatomy.
While, many were raptly absorbed in studying the microscopic words, others were more intrigued by the Cosmos. The Nebra sky disc is one of the oldest depictions of astronomic phenomena. Aristarchus calculated (using shadows and geometry) and illustrated the sizes of celestial bodies, and this work is believed to have influenced Copernicus who proposed the Heliocentric theory.
The Antikythera mechanism, a marvel of ancient engineering, (perhaps the earliest known predecessor to the modern computer), could calculate and display information about astronomical phenomena. The invention of the telescope broke new grounds. Galileo, who kept developing improved versions of the telescope, captured unseen landscapes of the moon and stars which he shared through printed illustrations.
Hevelius built upon this legacy with meticulous lunar-surface and star maps. Edmund Halley further showcased the power of visualization by using illustrations to predict celestial events. In 1850, John Whipple and William Bond were the first to photograph a star, Vega, (other than the sun, that is); they used a 38-cm Harvard refractor. The 20th century saw artists like Chesley Bonestell who used art to inspire the commoners and shape the public perception of space exploration; his work even influenced popular media and Hollywood.
Chemistry and physics also benefitted from visualizations. Descartes' spiral effluvia, laid the groundwork for later developments in understanding magnetism. Michael Faraday, lacking formal mathematical training, employed visual methods to understand electromagnetism – work which allowed James Clerk Maxwell to formulate equations of electromagnetism. James Clerk Maxwell created a 3D model of thermodynamic surface using clay, to visualize Gibbs theoretical concept.
John Dalton illustrated atoms. Mendeleev created the periodic table. Moseley's experiments with X-ray spectra plotted as a graph revealed a direct link between atomic number and spectral lines, revolutionizing the periodic table's organization. Archibald Couper introduced the idea of pictorial representation for structural formulas for organic compounds.
Friedrich August Kekulé proposed the structure of benzene (with a 3D model), which allowed the prediction of then unknown isomers. His student, Jacobus van’t Hoff's tetrahedral view of carbon revolutionized organic chemistry. Hofmann was the first to use 3D models of molecules in his lectures.
Pauling and his colleague Corey pioneered the concept of space-filling molecular models in molecular visualization, forming the basis for the widely used CPK models in chemistry. The development of X-ray crystallography in 1912 enabled the visualization of atomic arrangements in crystals, enhancing our understanding of molecular structures. John Kendrew's x-ray diffraction studies on myoglobin, illustrated by Irving Geis, were a landmark in structural biology. Roger Hayward, an artist and architect turned scientific illustrator, collaborated with Linus Pauling, making substantial contributions to molecular illustration in chemistry. Watson and Crick unraveled the DNA structure through a combination of 3D model visualization (using cardboards!) and insights from Rosalind Franklin's Photo 51.
As strange as it may sound, mathematics also saw its fair share of visualizations. Euclid's Elements laid the foundation for geometry in 300 BCE. Euler's formula, in the 17th century, influenced key concepts like topology and graph theory, crucial for modern scientific visualization. Menaechmus, Archimedes, and Apollonius advanced the understanding of conic sections, vital in real-world applications. In the 17th century, Fermat and Descartes introduced analytic geometry, merging geometry with algebra. Pascal's calculator and Babbage's computers set the stage for advanced computing. These developments, while not all illustrative, played a pivotal role in shaping modern scientific visualization methods.
The concept of visualization, especially with respect to conveying data, first originated with the use of maps, charts, and graphs. The earliest evidence of this is in the tenth century, where planetary movements were represented graphically. Nicole Oresme pioneered the plotting of theoretical functions in the 14th century, and Michael Florent van Langren created the first known statistical graph in the 17th century.
Edmond Halley's plotted the first data map in 1686. Dr. John Snow charted the location of deaths from cholera in central London (1854). Florence Nightingale revolutionized healthcare data visualization in the 19th century (her Coxcomb chart was a game changer). By the mid-1800s, new forms of statistical graphics were used for economic and national data.
The 20th century saw the development of stereograms, contour plots, and computer graphics, with pioneers like Marie Tharp (seafloor maps using sonar data) and Etienne-Jules Marey (pioneered the graphic method) making significant contributions. Bertin established a framework for effective visual communication with his Semiology of Graphics (1967).
The 20th century brought a new era with computer graphics, using tools like MATLAB, Mathematica and Tableau, for dynamic visualization. The digital revolution marked a turning point in science visualization. Computer graphics and 3D modeling expanded possibilities, offering new ways to represent complex scientific concepts. Key moments in this revolution include the development of sophisticated software tools and platforms, allowing researchers to create immersive visualizations for a deeper understanding of scientific phenomena.
The journey continues, marking new developments every day. Of course, there are many who have directly and indirectly contributed to the ever-growing field of scientific visualizations. Captured in this article are only a select few of the many whose legacy lives on in the dazzling spectrum of scientific visualizations we witness today.
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