Cognitive Load Research and Semantic Apprehension of Graphical Linguistics

In knowledge-work, there are increasing amounts of complex information rendered by information technology, which has led to the common term,

information overload

. Information visualization is one area where empirically tested semantic theory has not yet caught up with that of the underlying information storage and retrieval theory, contributing to information overload. In spite of a vast body of cognitive theory, much of the human factors research on information visualization has overlooked it. Specifically, information displays have facilitated the data gathering (ontological) aspects of human problem-solving and decision-making, but have exacerbated the meaning-making (epistemological) aspects of those activities by presenting information in linear rather than in graphical (holistic) forms. Drawing from extant empirical research, we present a thesis suggesting that cognitive load may be reduced when holistic information is imbued with transformational grammar to help alleviate the information overload problem, along with a methodological approach for investigation.