Visualize
I am a major sucker for 2 things: good data visualizations and simple but elegant games. I’m not sure why, maybe since they both have so much power in such a subtle way. The only thing I like more than those two things are when data visualizations are made like games, allowing the user to interact with the data.
One of my recent favorites is this Bus bunching experiment. http://setosa.io/bus/ Before this, I didn’t have any interest in the components of an unfortunate bus bunching event. I didn’t even know that they occurred. But this data visualization/game brought me into a problem that I did not know existed 5 minutes ago, let alone cared about.
But once I was introduced to the bus bunching problem, I have become semi-obsessed. I enjoy thoroughly thinking through specific and seemingly small (at least compared to something like world-peace, etc.) and pointed problems. This visualization has not only captured my imagination and interest for a few minutes, it has planted a seed in my mind that I will think of any time I see a bus.
Another reason why I enjoy this is because it has to do with processes and logistics. As a Computer Science and Econ major, I am not surprised that I am interested in logical ideas like processes and logistics. Each have rules, limitations and, most importantly, an optimal solution. One way to start brainstorming solutions can be with playing around with this simulation for a bit, and let the mind at play work on the problem subconsciously.
A few weeks ago, there was an article written by Northeastern about Professor Seth Cooper. He is a Computer Science professor that develops games that help scientists and professionals solve problems https://news.northeastern.edu/2017/11/on-professors-gaming-platform-users-solve-puzzles-to-save-lives/. The games take the solutions discovered by the players for simulated problems and applies them to similar problems scientists are working on.
I instantly loved the idea, and it makes a ton of sense. Most of my best or funniest ideas come when I am doing something for fun or as the question “what if…”
Humans are naturally inclined to solve problems, and many of the games we play follow that inclination. Disguising important problems as just simple games to play allow the brain to look at them in a different way, which offers the opportunity of finding different solutions. That is one of the reasons why the bus visualization is so interesting. You get to hold the busses, watch them pick up and drop off passengers and check on the stats of each station. The graphics are simple and unassuming. The entire thing feels like a cool game that you can play, poking a prodding the variables (time the bus is stopped) and seeing what happens. While this may seem like nothing on the surface, your brain is using all of that information to solve problems and come up with ideas. It has probably never seen this data in that way before, and it is a fresh of breath air that the brain can use.
