Discussion of Question/Significance
Does this tool make certain assumptions about the world that encourage you to model your data in particular ways? For example, mapping tools often rely on Westernized, distorted, notions of place, exhibited in Mercator projections that potentially flatten complex relationships to space into latitude/longitude coordinates. Similarly, timelines often assume a Western calendar and notions of linear time and struggle to represent subjective experiences of time. Individual lives and histories might be reduced to a single data point in some big data projects.
How well do these assumptions serve your understanding of your data?
What is your responsibility in exposing these assumptions?
What happens when we challenge these assumptions?
How can alternative conceptions of time, space, and subjectivity be built into DH tools and what might this look like?
