Networkism In his first book
Visual Complexity: Mapping Patterns of Information (2011), Lima covers the growing popularity of the network construct, not just as a scientific pursuit but as a cultural meme. In chapter six
Complex Beauty, Lima introduces a new movement or "artistic trend" characterized by the depiction of metaphorical graph structures, which he labels "Networkism". As Lima explains: Sharon Molloy, Emma McNally, Janice Caswell,
Tomás Saraceno, and
Chiharu Shiota are amongst the artists presented by Lima as precursors of this movement.
Proclivity for circles In the Introduction of
The Book of Circles: Visualizing Spheres of Knowledge (2017), Lima provides an evolutionary explanation for our propensity towards circular shapes. His account comprises three hypotheses:
1. Humans prefer curves Lima mentions that from an early age babies show an innate preference for curves, a human tendency corroborated by different studies, including a seminal paper published in 2006 by cognitive psychologists
Moshe Bar and Maital Neta, which revealed a strong human preference for curved objects and typefaces, as well as a 2013 study by researchers at the University of Toronto at Scarborough, which found a similar inclination in architectural spaces.
2. Circles equal happiness In his second evolutionary explanation, Lima mentions the experiment conducted by psychologist John N. Bassili in 1978, where the faces of participants were painted black and subsequently covered in dozens of luminescent dots. Participants were then asked to express different emotions in order to better understand the visual contour of each sentiment. As Lima describes:
3. Spherical geometry of the eye In his third point, Lima hypothesizes on how the circular framing and spherical geometry of our visual field, which cause a distortion similar to a "fish-eye lens" or a "crystal ball", could further "reinforce our innate tendency toward all things circular". "Perhaps the brain prefers forms and contours that have a better fit within such a conditioned field of view." says Lima. == Recognition ==