The Graphic Method.

Early scientists and engineers used pictures to calculate and convey technical information. Since before 1800, they referred to this practice as the "graphic method." In 1878, French polymath Étienne-Jules Marey published a 652-page book titled La méthode graphique dans les sciences expérimentales. La Méthode Graphique was the first work of its kind. In the introduction of the book, translated for this column, Marey helps us understand how visualization took root as a crucial tool documenting the empirical world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]