Visualizing Data: Reaction To Karsten Schmidt

Karsten Schmidt describes himself as a "Computational Designer", and the description is apt:  most of his design projects are driven by code and generative algorithms.  In stark contrast to Aaron Koblin, who uses small amounts of data from a wide range of individuals, Schmidt uses programatic iterations that generate similarly unique data sets.

The generative nature of Schmidt's work definitely separates it from Koblin's more "techy" work:  While Koblin's pieces simply use data sets with modern visualizations, Schmidt's generate their own data.  In the end, this results in the pieces (which could potentially be seen as more robotic or inhuman) actually having more in common with Koblin's human created data sets.

This conclusion about Schmidt's work brings to mind a number of interesting questions in the area of data, technology, and intelligence.  Specifically: what is interesting about data, and where are its most interesting sources?  Moreover, if data is real or generated, does that make a difference, and what is it about the presentation that gives it a more human feel?

To my mind, Schmidt's work unquestioningly draws attention to the fact that artificial, generated data can be every bit as human as real data sets, perhaps moreso.  Considering it further, this may be a result of the fact that generative data is "growing" in much the same way a group of humans "grow" a widely dispersed data set.  In the end, perhaps it is the life of the data, rather than its end points, that truly define how it is perceived.