Cascades of inscriptions and the re‐presentation of nature: how numbers, tables, graphs, and money come to re‐present a rolling ball

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Abstract
A conceptual apparatus is proposed for the analysis of scientific re‐presentations. Its central concept is that of inscriptions, scientific re‐presentations in the form of numbers, tables, diagrams, and graphs inscribed on paper or in electronic media. Scientists translate inscriptions through series of other inscriptions and thereby construct cascades of inscriptions. The usefulness of this conceptual apparatus is illustrated by means of a microanalysis of one physics lecture. The analysis reveals that what superficially appears to be an ordinary lecture involves many translations of a phenomenon into ontologically distinct re‐presentations. It is conjectured that these translations are not transparent to many physics newcomers and therefore impede their understanding and learning.

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