Science From Sight to Insight by Alan G. Gross;Joseph E. Harmon;

Author:Alan G. Gross;Joseph E. Harmon; [Gross, Alan G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 2013-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Figure 5.4. Picture of Bora Bora centered upon Mt. Otemanu, the island’s highest point (Darwin 1842, 3). Derived from the voyage of the Coquille led by Capt. Duperrey.

The next step toward theory is the transformation of Bora Bora from a “realistic” depiction into a map, figure 5.5. To achieve this, Darwin rotates the viewer’s perspective by ninety degrees. We are no longer looking at Bora Bora from a long horizontal distance but from a great height, directly above. The illusion of depth in figure 5.4—the product of an artistic code composed of shading and perspective—has been replaced in figure 5.5 by the imposition of a scale.5 In the interest of placing the reef-island’s structure unequivocally in the foreground, the actual has been simplified: some lagoon islets have been omitted, and no attempt has been made to depict the distribution of the island’s flora. In line with this purpose, the actual has also been enhanced: the depth of the lagoon in fathoms is variously indicated, and the lagoon is, as it were, drained in order to reveal the contours of its underlying reef. In the realistic rendering, light and shade represent the mountain as a three-dimensional object; in the map, the height of the mountain is symbolized by parallel lines, signaling a change from an artistic to a cartographic code. In the artistic rendering, the size and location of the coconut palms are reproduced so as to reflect their actual size and location; in the map, the repeated coconut palms are only symbols designed to help viewers differentiate the land from the reef below it (215). What is representational in the realistic rendering is symbolized in the map. This uniformity of representation facilitates structural comparisons among reef-island systems, which, in turn, facilitate the transformation of facts on the ground into evidence for Darwin’s argument.

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