OneZoom Tree of Life Explorer... An excellent way of visualizing data... Good usage of fractals.
"Big data" is a growing issue in science and industry, as modern computing has enabled large amounts of data to be captured and stored, revolutionizing many branches of science. These advances, however, also lead to challenges, such as how to explore and visualize large data sets.
The very first blue-skies idea that could have been identified with OneZoom was that of a mind map so vast that it could contain all human knowledge. The concept involved making the information easy to explore by laying it out in ever smaller bubbles using a fractal structure and a zooming interface so that the computer never runs out of space to put the information no matter how much there is.
OneZoom is committed to heightening awareness about the diversity of life on earth, its evolutionary history and the threats of extinction. This website allows you to explore the tree of life in a completely new way: it's like a map, everything is on one page, all you have to do is zoom in and out. OneZoom also provides free, open source, data visulation tools for science and education.
Via Lauren Moss
The mind map concept is also showing up in a project and upcoming conference and book for organizing and making available the diversity of research information in neurobiology. From the link below you can track down that information. Also you can go to newsroom.ucla.edu and search for Dr. Silva, below.
I believe that the visual representation of complex systems is going to percolate progressively into fields less friendly to or organized as a science.
"Alcino Silva, a professor of neurobiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and professor of psychiatry at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA. "
UCLA researcher invents new tools to manage 'information overload' threatening neuroscienceBefore the digital age, neuroscientists got their information in the library like the rest of us. But the explosion of neuroscience research has resulted in the publication of nearly 2 million papers — more data than any researcher can read and absorb . . .
Have fun,
Ed