100 Diagrams That Changed the World

A visual history of human sensemaking, from cave paintings to the world wide web.

This is an interesting new book that illustrates the power of the drawing over the word. There are some beautiful examples of some of the Diagrams in the book at the source link.

SOURCE

100 Diagrams That Changed the World (UK; public library) by investigative journalist and documentarian Scott Christianson chronicles the history of our evolving understanding of the world through humanity’s most groundbreaking sketches, illustrations, and drawings, ranging from cave paintings to The Rosetta Stone to Moses Harris’s color wheel to Tim Berners-Lee’s flowchart for a “mesh” information management system, the original blueprint for the world wide web.

It appears that no great diagram is solely authored by its creator. Most of those described here were the culmination of centuries of accumulated knowledge. Most arose from collaboration (and oftentimes in competition) with others. Each was a product and a reflection of its unique cultural, historical and political environment. Each represented specific preoccupations, interests, and stake holders.

reply to post by happykat39


This is an awesome spot, and a fascinating subject. Where once diagrams were made of things to illustrate a real world object, there is now a market for diagrams of things that do not exist in anything other than fiction.

Millenium Falcon anyone?
www.haynes.co.uk...

The United Federation of Planets vessel, the U.S.S. Enterprise.
www.haynes.co.uk...

Haynes have a massive history of making diagramatic books for assisting in the fixing of technical issues with automobiles, but the wonderful addition of a series of manuals describing fictional vehicles, is a source of joy to many. Perhaps it says something profound about the changing priorities of man, that we used to make diagrams purely as an excersise in passing on vital information, and now make them as a source of ammusement and entertainment.

Fascinating idea for a thread Happykat39!

They only show 17 of them, fantastic as they all are, but I guess that's why we have to buy the book

reply to post by happykat39


Interesting diagrams.
Seeing emoticons from 1881 surprised me. I didn't realize they had been around that long, though I suspect they weren't as popular before the internet as after.