6 Autographic Environments

In previous chapters, I have described autographic visualization systems that include multiple components arranged into self-inscribing mechanisms. I chose the term "autographic environment" to refer to a group of visualization systems that share one additional characteristic: enclosed environments in which trace-phenomena can unfold. Autographic environments have an interiority that is often isolated from the outside and whose conditions can be controlled. They can be used as experimental systems for simulation and computation; they allow for comparing the outcomes of various initial conditions. While many technologies such as electronic sensors can be described as "black boxes," the autographic environment is better characterized as a clear or white box. Both black and clear boxes are enclosed systems connected to the outside through a defined interface. The contents of the black box are hidden, inaccessible, and ignored in its use, which only requires attending to its inputs and outputs. In contrast, the clear box depends on its contents being exposed, even if they remain inaccessible. A bottle garden contains plants, soil, and water sealed inside a glass container; only light can enter, providing the plants with energy. The clear box emphasizes what happens inside, exposing its processes in response to what enters the system.