An Alternative Definition and Model for Knowledge Visualization

The term knowledge visualization has been used in many different fields with many different definitions. In this paper, we propose a new definition of knowledge visualization specifically in the context of visual analysis and reasoning. Our definition begins with the differentiation of knowledge as either explicit and tacit knowledge. We then present a model for the relationship between the two through the use visualization. Instead of directly representing data in a visualization, we first determine the value of the explicit knowledge associated with the data based on a cost/benefit analysis and display the knowledge in accordance to its importance. We propose that the displayed explicit knowledge leads us to create our own tacit knowledge through visual analytical reasoning and discovery.