NUMEROLOGY
Version 0.1

For more information, please see:
http://numerology.ryanwyatt.net/

Welcome to "Numerology v0.1," a collection of partiview data assembled in support of a fulldome short that I created.

GETTING STARTED

To take a look at the data on MacOS, simply double-click on the file named "numerology.command" and the Partiview software will launch.  On Windows, execute the "numerology.bat" file.  And on Linux, run the "numerology.sh" script.

For more information on Partiview, please see Brian Abbott's extensive documentation:
http://haydenplanetarium.org/universe/partiview/

BACKGROUND ON THE DATA

All data are mapped into the same coordinate space:  the coordinates represent national debt, inflation, and unemployment (as x, y, and z, respectively) for each of 116 countries for which I had overlapping data.  

After running the enclosed configuration file, you will be placed out in space along the national debt axis, viewing explosion icons that are scaled by each country's military expenditure and color-coded by the percentage of GDP spent on the military.  This is data group 1, "Military_Burst."

You can turn groups on and off in the Partiview GUI by selecting them in the second row of buttons from the top of the window.

Data group 2, "Electricity," shows lightning bolts, sized by electricity usage and colored by electricity production.

Data group 3, "HIV," uses icons that read "HIV," where the size of the characters is proportional to countries' HIV infection rates and the color is a function of the number of AIDS-related deaths. 

Data group 4, "Military_Flags," shows the same data as the first data group, with images of countries' flags scaled by military expenditures.

All data come from the CIA's World Factbook:
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

EXPERIENCING THE DATA

To fly through the data, hold down your right mouse button (or on a Mac, your single mouse button and the option key) and move the mouse; you will move toward and away from the origin.  To rotate around the data, hold down your left mouse button (or single mouse button on a Mac) and move the mouse; you will effectively "orbit" around the origin.

Again, for more details on Partiview and how to use it, please see Brian Abbott's extensive documentation:
http://haydenplanetarium.org/universe/partiview/

A FEW THINGS TO OBSERVE

I encourage you to play with the data, fly around, and just try to get a sense of how some of the factors are correlated and anti-correlated.  For example, note that many of the countries with high HIV infection rates tend to have high inflation and high unemployment; they certainly aren&rsquo;t spending a lot on the military.

N.B. that I'm not trying to suggest causal relations or specific connections by displaying the data in this way.  That's why I call the piece "Numerology."  I just want to provoke an opportunity to look at the data in a different way and to consider the meaning and ramifications.


Ryan Wyatt
New York, New York
ryan@ryanwyatt.net
