{"product_id":"2026100008713-secondhand-diagram-the-instrument-of-thought","title":"Diagram: The Instrument Of Thought","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCondition remarks:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBook: Good\u003cbr\u003eJacket: Worn\/faded, no tears\u003cbr\u003ePages: Yellowed\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLong before the age of infographics and data visualisation, human beings were drawing diagrams — and Diagram: The Instrument of Thought argues that this impulse is one of the most fundamental expressions of the human mind. Keith Albarn and Jenny Miall Smith present a sweeping, intellectually ambitious survey of the diagram as a cognitive and cultural artefact, tracing its use across civilisations, disciplines, and centuries — from ancient cosmological charts and sacred geometry to the technical blueprints of the industrial age. The book chronicles how visual schematics have served not merely as illustrations of ideas, but as the very instruments through which thought is structured, communicated, and transformed.\n\nAmbitious in scope and richly illustrated, this work sits at a compelling crossroads between art history, philosophy, and the science of communication. Albarn and Smith write with a clarity and conviction that makes abstract ideas immediately tangible, drawing connections between mystical diagrams, mathematical proofs, and architectural plans to reveal a universal language hidden in plain sight. For anyone who has ever wondered why a spiral, a grid, or a circle can carry the weight of an entire worldview, this book offers a profound and genuinely surprising answer.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Secondhand Stock","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50572476580059,"sku":"2026100008713-SECONDHAND","price":75.0,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0523\/7646\/9701\/files\/8e02670d-d397-4614-bb41-f091503ec7e6.png?v=1791166576","url":"https:\/\/bookgrocer.com\/products\/2026100008713-secondhand-diagram-the-instrument-of-thought","provider":"Book Grocer","version":"1.0","type":"link"}