“Isms” in Visualization

In visualization, there are many different wisdoms and opinions about why visualization works, what makes a good visualization, and how to design and evaluate visualization. Collectively these wisdoms and options have shaped a landscape of the schools of thought in the field of visualization. In this chapter, we examine various schools of thought in visualization, juxtaposing them with schools of thought in computer science and psychology. We deliberate the possibility that some schools of thought in computer science and psychology may have influenced those in visualization. Based on our observation of the development of schools of thought in the discipline of psychology, we believe that it is the empirical evidence that informs the development of theories, which are often embedded in some schools of thought. Meanwhile, empirical studies have a crucial role in visualization to inform and validate postulated theories.