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Sinclair and Rockwell’s piece on “Text Analysis and Visualization” draws emphasis to the recurring themes of text analysis–the inhuman nature of the process. They recognize the necessity of text analysis, mentioning how some 200 billion emails, 5 billion Google searches, and hundreds of hours of video are uploaded every day. The organization, storage, and retrieval of such all being capable through text based processes and searches. However, the authors also mention the recurring theme of text analysis: “[It provides] a snapshot, but [doesn’t provide] exploration and experimentation”. The reality remains that text analysis seems to be a loose term in the significance of the word analysis. The analysis of the physical text itself and the statistical modeling of words can be easily computerized, but the ability to discern meaning and draw conclusions from text seems to remain a human trait. This is very significant to me because it reassures the fact that the human mind is unique and irreplaceable. We can utilize computers to find text we are looking for or to determine which texts in a vast collection are worth our time, but our ability to contextually analyze text and find true meaning is seemingly unmatched and remains human.

 

In response to my colleague NL, I too find it very interesting how people still communicate primarily through text. You mention the text analysis used in toy commercials and how cloud visualizations show how certain words play a major role in advertising. Although text is the most frequent means of communication, I ask whether it remains the most effective way to communicate? With visual and audio communication it can often be easier to portray emotion which textual communication cannot. I do not have an answer for this question, but it’s something to think about!