http://www.archimuse.com/mw2007/papers/robinson/robinson.html
This paper discusses a project called My Evidence, funded by San Francisco's Exploratorium. The project allows people to explore their own belief systems, by examining the ways we know what we know, and the ways that we choose what to believe. This online program poses statements of belief and asks the user to choose which statements they believe in the most, and how they acquired the belief that the statements are accurate. With this information, a personalized visual evidence map is created for the user, and this map can be compared with the maps of other users. People can see the ways of collecting evidence that they believe are the most effective and accurate and compare this with the ways that they themselves normally collect evidence.
The issue of belief systems and the collecting of evidence is very important today as a result of the massive amounts of supposedly "scientific" information and data available currently on the web. Many websites from which people gather the "evidence" fueling their beliefs are seen as credible authorities on a given subject, but these sites may have been created by anyone, and do not provide sources or any real, documented facts. For this reason, it is important for us to attempt to understand the ways in which people gather what they perceive to be factual information, and build belief systems based on this information.
This article is also pertinent to some of the themes we've been discussing in class, as it describes changes made in the program over time in order to increase accessibility and personalization, making it more available and relevant to people's lives. This is one challenge constantly faced by organizations, especially museums, in presenting information on the web.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I like that this project attempts to get people thinking about why they believe what they believe and why they know what they know. I think that is something sorely needed in a world where many people believe any statement without knowing how the statement originated. We are all probably guilty of it at some point. Hell, I know that I have at times believed things without knowing their veracity.
However,I do not think the project goes quite far enough. It does not really mention why we believe the claims and theories of established scientists rather than some conspiracy theorist on the internet. I think that with a few extensions, the project could adress the issue more fully. Still, it is a wonderful step towards illuminating where information comes from, and why we believe it.
I went to the website to see what they have so far, which is just to announce what is coming and when (winter 07). The graphics get your attention - anytime a skull is front and center it tends to capture people's eye. It is interesting to see the skull next to the chimp (at least I think it is a chimp - playing with the idea of evolution, or I might be reading too much into the image) with an x-ray of a skull and what appears to be an electrophoresis gel (possibly).
I'm intriqued by the project and would have to spend some time creating my belief maps to really get a sense of how far the website does take you into examining/questioning/thinking about scientific evidence. I'd be curious to see if it does tie back to the museum at all especially as it purports to examine the "role...museums have as arbitrators of truth." Guess we'll have to wait a few more months to find out.
Post a Comment