Anna Kerenina R-map

[Ron Edwards]

Hello,

Jere, I'm familiar with lots of things called data mapping, officially and unofficially. It's a pretty various term. I won't be able to answer your question unless you are more specific.

But I'm also confused about your point. I'm talking about the term relationship map as applied to a diagram composed primarily of ties based on kinship and sexual contact. Talking about another term doesn't seem relevant to the text you quoted.

If you're talking about the technique, rather than the term, specifically the technique of connecting things with circles and arrows, then note, I didn't lay claim to inventing that myself.

Best,
Ron

[Thierry Michel]

I'm also now thinking that it might be possible to come up with a random map generator. I mean, sans knowing the plot of Anna Karenina, how much more useful is this map than one like it, generated at random?

If someone came up with an editor for something like this, I think it might be popular.

There is a free graph editor http://www.graphviz.org/">there. No flash or mouseovers but nice all the same

Generating random graphs might not be as easy as it sounds because real social networks have some peculiar properties (the whole small-world literature is about that).