Thought Experiments in Design Fiction for Visualization

Abstract

Thought experiments are considered valuable tools in science, enabling the exploration of hypotheses and the examination of complex ideas in a conceptual, non-empirical framework. These thought experiments can be useful in design fiction for speculating future possibilities, examining existing and alternate scenarios in new ways or challenging current paradigms. In visualization, speculating future possibilities or exploring new ways of interpreting existing scenarios can provoke critical reflection and envision novel approaches. In this paper we present such thought experiments for visualization. We conceptualize and define a thought experiment to consist of a situation, a story, and a scenario. Situations are derived from different tools of thought experiments and visualization practice; a story is an AI-generated fiction based on the situation and the scenario is the grounding of the situation and story in visualization research. We present ten such thought experiments and demonstrate their utility in visualization by deriving critiques from them.