Toward Measuring Network Aesthetics Based on Symmetry

Authors

Zengqiang Chen, Nankai University
Matthias Dehmer, Nankai University
Frank Emmert-Streib, Tampere University of Technology
Abbe Mowshowitz, CUNY City CollegeFollow
Yongtang Shi, Nankai University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-6-2017

Abstract

In this exploratory paper, we discuss quantitative graph-theoretical measures of network aesthetics. Related work in this area has typically focused on geometrical features (e.g., line crossings or edge bendiness) of drawings or visual representations of graphs which purportedly affect an observer’s perception. Here we take a very different approach, abandoning reliance on geometrical properties, and apply information-theoretic measures to abstract graphs and networks directly (rather than to their visual representaions) as a means of capturing classical appreciation of structural symmetry. Examples are used solely to motivate the approach to measurement, and to elucidate our symmetry-based mathematical theory of network aesthetics.

Comments

This article originally appeared in Axioms, available at DOI: 10.3390/axioms6020012

© 2017 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).