Diagrammatic Semiotics / Diagrammatic Thinking
Updated 2026-09-11
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Diagrammatic semiotics studies how diagrams signify: the diagram does more than resemble its object, it carries conventions, an arrow for causation, a box for a boundary, and its meaning is fixed by structural correspondence rather than by outward shape alone. Treating the diagram as an analyzable sign system is what turns it from a picture into a genuine vehicle of logic.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Split icon from convention: separate what resembles the object from what was agreed - Keep conventions consistent: hold one notation steady across the whole diagram - Pair with a legend: never assume that the symbols will explain themselves to the reader
Anchor fast decisions
A diagram works because its structure maps onto the relations it represents, but the mapping runs partly through resemblance and partly through rules a community fixed. Where the convention is ambiguous, the same figure carries two readings, and a disagreement about the arrow is a disagreement about the claim itself, so consistency is a logical requirement and not mere tidiness.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AC%A6%E8%99%9F%E5%AD%B8verified
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