Diagram

The original meaning of the Greek word die include "to pass by&sbquo" "perfect(ly)" and "to separate&sbquo" and is used as a prefix for Greek scientific terms. One of the words developed after this is diagnosis&sbquo which originally meant "distinction from others" but later gained more detailed meanings such as "finding out what is wrong with someone or something" and "sorting out and writing down." Similarly&sbquo the word diagram originally referred to line maps&sbquo charts and figures that represented geometric theorems and mathematical logic&sbquo but later came to encompass construction drawings and outline drawings&sbquo and even simplified figures in general including reference charts as well. In Japan this word is mainly used as a railroad term that is usually shortened and pronounced as dia&sbquo a chart that shows the train schedule on a certain line. The vertical axis indicates distance and station&sbquo and horizontal axis represents time. The position of a certain train at a certain point in time is expressed by a diagonal lime. It is&sbquo however&sbquo more accurate to call this a timetable or schedule. A diagram is a figure&sbquo chart&sbquo scheme that more visually expresses logic and thinking processes rather than movement of trains&sbquo etc. It best refer to 'illustrations&sbquo" including figure&sbquo charts and schemes in general. Illustration is an attempt to theoretically outline conceptual thought and makes a simplified comprehensible figure that explains that thought though visual effects. Diagram is a rhematic term that represents table&sbquo figures&sbquo charts&sbquo musical scores&sbquo technical drawings and maps through the structural expression of concepts or the compositional display of concepts. It was&sbquo therefore&sbquo originally required to put together a graphical expression fully utilizing visual symbols and figures. Today&sbquo however&sbquo there is a demand for new types of diagrams that use video and animated images&sbquo and those that are not only visual but also cognizable. That is&sbquo there is a demand for the invention of diagrams as a denotation system for communication&sbquo much like an interface&sbquo that not only relies on the visual sense but other senses such as touch&sbquo and those with mechanism or structure that guides actions. The diagrams that should be designed in the future are "meta diagrams" that transcend conventional visual expression.

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