Exhibit A

Exhibit A EFTA01181673 (12) United States Patent Kosslyn et al. (54) MULTI-VARIATE DATA PRESMTATION METIIOD USINO RCOLOGICAL1T VALII1 STIMULI (76) Imaniom Sleplten Michael Knaslyn, 28 (bantki SI., Cambridge. MA (US 021381 (Baraki (Mula, 130 Brainard Rt, Apl. (s) Notko: Subject to any disclairoer, dn letni of lltis patent Is endended ur adamom, to. k r 15 V.S.C. 154(6) by 445 days. (20 AppL No2 09/613,605 (22) Filet Jul. 10, 2000 (51) IBL ...... G09G 5/00 (52) U.S. CL (58) Field of Smrek 345/836, 837, 345839, 976, 977, 440 (56) Weronce* CYM U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 5/124976 A • 4/1991 •AreactIbleA oc al. 5.043,920 A M991 Mala el al 5144190 A a/1992 nerwu« ei al. 5)21)00 A 611994 Desa S.347A52 A 9/1991 gay, k 5,375,201 A 17/1994 Lkonazt S/152.4(0 A W1995 Smith 5,555)54 A 9/1996 Wnuki. et aL 5,584677 A 12/1996 Myca cl al A 411997 Mick ct 5671,381 A 9/1997 sttankle et al. 5,675,746 A 1(0097 Marshall 1,750µ/0 A • 3/1998 Piat — .... 60W514 5,774) 78 A 6/1998 Mardaall 705/35 MM" A 1/1999 tków 5,974/93 A let/1999 IAgla oto Patent No.: US 6,639,614 B1 (45) Date of Patent: Oct. 28, 2003 0711138 PUBLICATIONS Slephen M. Kosam, •elemends of Oraph Design'; Ulic mac, Publishing page, and pp. 267-270. Jako J. vno Wijk and Huub van de %Werk& "emilka licemaps: Vistialintion of Niem maka! Information• Eind- hoven Unlvenity of ibelmoloyy, Oogt nf Mathernatks and Compeling Science. 111abdocument,"Titeniaps for spaw eonanim:4 Viella11741- tinn of Marimbie?, wab sile: hIlp:/Avww.cs.umd.edoilwill rreemaps„ picked as of Apr. 19, 2000, fout pogoi. Web document, "Map koltom:nas", web sito: littpc/Awv.s- martmoney....mulmarkciraanliminietiencidnil, picked u of Apr. 19, 2000, Iwo pages. domment, "SmtdMoney lbdar Market Tbday: Soenna to Uaing Mc Map of tbc Maker, wab Me: hup:// vAvwsmartmoney.comlana/ourketshaewarrndoccfm- tatory-199012313.pldred as of Apr.19,20X1, (taco pages. (LM contirtud on trost me.) Mniemy lixonsina—,Inko Cabeca Ast/stam E.ransiner—Ildan Ddwiler (74) Mimicy, Agent, rw flisa—Brián L. MkhaelLs; Joseph P. Gulon; Skowa Rudni& Bada lamek LLP (57) ABSTRACT Ametbad h prowidni wherobymmlikuitions of eeologically walid images and wanda aro wsad rot vlavalkation of large motu*" of infnrmatiuo. topos and sounds oto seleclod and oembiced to acommate namul recogpition of panam laba. 6111110/1 and chanem. A ubiel field of similor kans (cpn- ants a conapoodirm fleki of dala sola, %bero tho anur- iom of emil icon illustraten tka ~Mb% valau of tle tualedying dada. Wilki owa kos, elements chama in stopu, siw, tambor, cek; and motku to Maskota Ile respeetivo cham, of data radlin the corresponding data set. Starodawnie wand ocarrence, spahi kostkot type, and voltamesignal (ho laser obaw Uw genami stmation, nawali as mc type and importants of data atveges, atimu- kling Ihe U.Ste$ witenlion lori»: nenia of klang 13 CDII% 6 Dranka Slapets EFTA01181674 US 6,639,614 B1 Ng. 2 MUM PILIBLIOVIIONS 41/411, Jocumant, `Sou oMonq.cont: Map Station", wee site: httpa//wwwwnatononey.contimapstaitou/, picked as of Jun. 18, 2000, dote pages. Web donsatom, "Sulariktoney.com: Map SIM %eh she: http://wwwsmartmoney.cominiapstatiOni indox.efintstoryrapasiag, picked an of Jam 18, 2000, two Mot Mb document, "timattbilorway Today: Mattel Tbday: Secret to Using lbo Map of filo %tuber, web silo: Map:// www.smo Ortoney.comixothookuistocandiottox.efm- 7stotr199812313, picked as of Apr. 19,20), ate* pages. Wah docturaent,"Map Inortsdions", web eke: hop://avents- otailmonety.conohcoVniarketenaplinskudionslatenl, picked n of Apr. 07, 2020, two pages. • cited by ccamiocc EFTA01181675 U.S. Patent Oct. 28, 2003 Sheet 1 orb US 6,639,614 Si FIG. 1 EFTA01181676 FIG. 2A U.S. Patent Oct. 2..8, 2003 Sheet 2 of 6 Us 6,639,614 B1 FIG. 3A FIG. 2B FIG. 2C FIG. 3B FIG. 3C FIG. 3D EFTA01181677 U.S. Patent Oct. 28,2003 Sheet 3 of 6 US 6,639,614 B1 Baseline FIG. 4 [green] [red] FIG. 5 0 0 [green] [brown] FIG. 6 EFTA01181678 U.S. Patent Oct. 28, 2003 Sheet 4 of 6 US 6,639,614 B1 701 FIG. 7 EFTA01181679 U.S. Patent FIG. 8 Oct. 211, 2003 Sheet 5 of 6 US 6,639,614 B1 Plower Icon Elaueob Range Data Element Mamba of petals 1-12, (CULL 6 Price doge slice btaline, dollars Sim of Head 1-7, nonnalittd for present range Absolute price of stock Length 'Otero 1.7 Present standard Skim of price, in 0.5 SD increments, compared to avenge Coke of Stan Green/Red Price up or down Color °Yam (keen/Brown hice up/down for previous N trades Change of Icon Motion of Flower Stan Slow, medium, fast Standard deviation of price relative to baseline Color of Read Red, Oran Price: Goan up, red down Intensity of Head Color Bright, Dim Bright, large change; din, small change Blinking tined at once per second; duration fixed at 30 seconds Price changed Negative Sounds loudness in100inneinents proportional to volume of bade Violin low notes Price 0.5 SD lower Plato low nota MCC 1 SD lower Bass low notes Price 2 or moo SD Iowa Positive Sounds Loudness in 100 ineterneots proportional tovolume Mtn& Violin high noses Price 03 SD higher Piano high notes Price 1 SD higher trumpet high notes Prica2 a roore SD hi& Location of Sounds Right to Left, 3 secs each way; Fixed at two stops Negative let; Positive right; Background sounds Selected from negative or positive sounds; Volume in 100 IIICTC11109t$ Average roast below or above baseline; Volume of trades in the market Txneia Events Bunny nibbling near flower News item for the stock Flower ill black Trading suspended Border colors Circa, red; Color saturation; Color intensity Overall volume up, down; Pruponional to amount of change since baseline; Overall volume since baseline EFTA01181680 U.S. Patent Oct. 2,8, 2003 Sheet 6 of 6 US 6,639,614 B1 ,-901 ,-903 SELECT ICON ALLOCATE DATA ITEMS TO ICON VARIATIONS INTERPRET DATA AND DISPLAY ICON ACCORDING TO DATA SELECTED DATA CHANGES NO OBTAIN NEXT DATA UPDATE ,-905 YES -913 CALCULATE SIZE AND DIRECTION OF CHANGE TRIGGER SOUND AND VISUAL CHANGES FIG. 9 EFTA01181681 US 6,639,614 B1 1 MUCII-VARIATK DATA PRESENTATION METHOD USING ECOLOGICALLY YAW) STIMULI FIELD OP 1NVENITON 'The moml inflation rams to graphical and warthog presentation of dale, puticularly for exploiting human pat- min recognition. BACKGROUND The field of Infomation visualization includes the wee of maps to convey informatics inn mobil manner. Apemen- ale information displays can bring life to otherwise then matrices or sucams of numbers. Human perception and tecognilloo of data treats can be facilitated through con- strection of onmprehonsibk grapta.This trend perception is especially important when µWen Wµe annals of multi- mutat data from which useful information most he quickly derkted. Depending upon fin environment and Om intim, lance of the decisions to be made, even the best information can become overwhelming. An example of ono such enyi. foment is a fast-paced stock lead* COOT What> Itaancul analysts are expected to quickly assess varier online sources of information and make irrevocable decudoes tint can effect their very carmine Other situations rise in civil eminencies whore an uninformed decision couldJeopudize lives. The complier industry has generaled a number of look for coping with problems suck as these. On brains allow to to do many things that defy oven the MOM complex artificial tricorn. At the fore la ability to organize a diverse range of informatics into relatively ample patterns and to monitor them 'ultimo& for Dalliers; cases that break macs with the majorily.The brainMillebeat 'patina dektmor nxicts003. The couvouitheal data viou• alitattion tools have failed to take advantage of the various and paceplual powom of lie heath in any arm- load manner. A graph is a visual display that iamb-ales ono or nom 4 relationship among numbers.Tbo heal graphs are those that permit n viand pattern. trend or comparison to bo quickly and acmitately compthearkd by a human wader. A poorly designed or constructed grape can be (Molt to decipher popaly, nod coo rood lamination popaly, or etagnenisoonoln- siom Eased upon knowledge of the wifelike audience. coupled with art understanding of human perception and (*satins, a certain crallamariship can be brought to boar upon the task. Application of empirical findings from researchOn human SO cognition sad 'sampling to creation of graphs isexplored a M. Rosslyn's book, "Elements of Onph Design: (W.H. Paestum a fib., 1994), whist fa incorporated Wnt o by reference. The author evaluates many of the factors that ahead in he otaktored when tinkering a graph format to r present specific content for a specific purpose, tad derives a set of paucities havingn basis in fie physiological psy- chology of hums cognition and perception. Exploitation of these principles when formulating a graphical presentatioo eau daainalically fmpmvo tbo useful inforinatiuo ..eater ..eater without appreciable increase in visual complexity. The author derivesn lot of principles that provide a founework against which to calibrate the relative effectiveness of vaii- ous approaches o data vlitualhottion. In gumnal, me peiu- ciples can be divided into throe sections: one regarding the m way in which we actively eugenics and interpret what we sego; another regarding bow meaning is derived faun visual 2 display; and a lied related to memory and processing caned to roper inhatmotation. 'these same principles also apply directly to Marna of worsts. One approach for display of lafonnadon is disclosed In s U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,381 based to Strasniuk. A three- dImeinlonal, virtual reality display VICO is meow] to Loup lain objects that represent blocks of data as 3-1) baecbaris. Attributor of the data are mapped to visible or audible chniadaiSikis such as an kw having a specific sizeor io color. The spatial tolationthip and connecting limn Wagon Mons in the landscape represent structural relationships that oast in dm underlying than, with IM ground Plano mime- settling a numerical vase as a common surface plane. Artificial perapecuive (with object compressionnear the s horizon) adds to the reathrn of the view. A user an arrange the objects according to a preferred lexical order, and then "tour across the landscape to browse or much Sr pariku, lu data bans or relationships. There are many disadvantages of this method of vsual- sn For one chino, the data represeinalkiFIS aro purely utificia, much Rho a two-dimensional Mischa/I with its necessarily limiled information bandwidth. A sidle hietar- diked ken paradigm dictates the anangernenth between the icons, illustrated by cluttered linkage lines. In w.ence, the 2 s user can merely navigate through a Ma of bar charts laws. (rating the are and age of files, or similarly berIgn palm. mars. Thom is no means for indicating any data chimps, nor their magnitude, relevance, or direction. Given the lack of change information, it would his impimble todeice: any 30 pallet m of changes amog 'hada sets. Ilurthennore, sound is impkatented solely as a "warning tone triggered when Ike uses moor teaches a filo icon having a predetermined ittanao. There is to selection from a variety of meaningful sounds, or any concept of spatial °depletion, intomiy, or as inherent recognition of the sash's meaning, other than its mere OCOURCOCO. Significantly, the system relies upon the virtual (.o., artificial) reality canoed, n computationally complex, and visually distracting data display. Virlesi reality (VR) o mount to replicate physical reality, whom the bolter the VR system, the better the rendition. Visualizations of this type accenntato tie details at the expense of data coolp(o. Mashie. As described in Roslyn 's "Elements of Graph Design", human ears can reliably process only a limited s amount of shoal infounaiou at one lime, depending on a number of psychological kelom including relevance and Mows. It takes additional effort for the mind to comouct a 3-1) perceptual organization of modem icon meanings and mitigation% especially when they aro made 0044*3 loss Wel- ligibk by the artificial variations and disbitions constantly Introduced by "navigating." A VR display contaminated with irrelevant or goody detailed information nay actually reduce the ability to properly perceive the data patterns of most interest. A similar 44444 tyrrinnl, mocalcally addressed to visual- ization of Information woeful to money managers, is dis- closed in US. Pal. Nom 5,675,746, end 5,774,878, both issued to Marshal. In time and related patents, so-called 3-1) "metaphors" aro used in represent data in a virtual reality setting. where diaracictialka of each metaphorical object am determined by the corresponding data. The shape, on/or and rotation of each object may change according lo the data, or to highlight criteria selected by the user. The localism of the object may reprepent the source of rho informalion (e.g., a selected market information feed), or a collective almilarky (e.g., intheary groups). lie need may then -fir among the objects to observe their choracteriaks EFTA01181682 US 6,639,614 B1 3 4 more dimly. Paw example, objects 'floating' above the everyone knovoi that on sea of infection k "red," because perceptual ground plane teak( !crested data kw stocks of infiamatistion,yet Lesser would indkato such a elate with unarm "show retragmalbts respective loaniimggofmooch, a bkie icon. Sieritsrly, the dais k,xn are oomprbart of axed shapes and imminent of 3.D o ts too miedlied by lho shodthapc and loestiou,esing annihilationsof gam mints: system configuration, 'Montt no partiotbr arrange:cools $ red, gram, and yellow, to represent "deviations" from a are described. normal value Thu moonily restricts the Lesser approach to Many of the disadvantages of this system relate to the types of data that can be charactorreoll as normal or &boor- limited virolatirmion mechanisms employable. Mao arrange- mat comaliticist. It also limits the information to a Impel of moot of icons is according as a poxlelermined set of three- abstraction that relies upon the system paramelers and dimensional axes. 'Mc icons theta elves have evirospormling to tequ tea Wedge assn taPtiOns be made about the rilloni to stome,simandeolor that arepumlyarbitruy and whkh lend pcedefine the binary threshokis clench normality. Similarly, wry little to any Inherent peccoption of their respective y amer makes no reference to sound at all, mbar than "bowel valeta. The portrayal of spinning, colored or pulsating icons wand." the status of which may be reflected in a corm- merely reposinot data or data kends kg have already been sponciagly colored icon. Ignoring this multimedia caladalod.lbo totally abstract hodscape does not lend kW( is Mon thither limits the amount of status information that can to °valuating any recognizable objects, Is atoms interactiorn be derived. or patterns Thom is nothing hi the data reality arrange- Funkticrooro, a eLossergrain- as taught by lamer hag. merit to facilitate recognition of "oullices", Lc., the few mks the underlying data for one taw at a time, not largo nowt:asafoetida's data sets. Hach of these Ilmitaihms of the numbers of case& The design oftener DM to capitalize an prior art fosters a :agility's:on fora large amount of learning so any pattern relevaocv the would bo cognizable across more boron' the display begins ao (lawn. maul for Anything than ono dela col, let aloes hundreds.lhem in no -*oaken! mom than a dais browsing fool mapping" of data in which completely different objects In addition to the mbar disadvantages of virtual cagily reprenent values of different measurements. Laser tam the mentioned above, a user unfamiliar with the medium not unto reclangslar shape over and over again for dozens of only must learn to configure and navigate the data, but can r different types of data, dramatically aggravating an already easily become manybeimed or discolor:4yd by the lack of slap teaming cony. uniformity or structure. At aunt, the Marshall system is Although Lessor does waged superficially that a Lessor.. disadnalmoously grounded on depth perception, and spa- Gram could be applied to "business data" or other forms of fiat intuition, which do not recognize the limits of human information, there is no luposlion whatever that such a cognition, memory, or oumptehmilon. Without these eke sa display sold apply to anything more than partly physical, moats properly constrained, to virtual reality icons remain process.caicated data. One mini presume, given the one-to- relatively lakciphorabk, and the in fomantion ferments- ow relationshipof data and display dolma's, that a I man- tions frustratingly inscrulable.ttunbarnom, the aso of sound (ham would require a fixed physical shape of some sort, by Marshall has the disadvantage that It fa mud only for determined by the process itself. (7egorat pieces would then faunally identified aid sekctedhighlighted cases rather m palmy some binary data Mahn of the process being aced- than showim warm or any other Informailan general to tared. Again, this km nothing at all &ado with defining icons the data W. liven when sound is Implemookd, there is or data teproserthitions to exploit the advantages or !huh- nothing to indicate how the round con be used to provide lions of human memory, perceplion, or comprehension. Al multivariate umbra to the nadgals display. this very least, anyone familiar with one typo of Lesserrinut fn an effort to bring a physical Association to data vim. an for human nwdical information would have no idea how to Minion techniques, U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,800, issued as apply Misname lechnolog.v man/omit type of dma, say, air Lessen describes a graphical method lied to medical data traffic control, or weather. about a patient. A sieglo display template Is arranged ss a One other °amok, of using matrices of rectangles with represcolation of the hunum form, with binary information different shapes and colors is in use by SourtMonity.com of korai imposed upon fixed locations of the ham. Thu present as Now York, NY, to ill mnia° Mock market data. Accordiug to data values are illustrated by Iraqi's the color or intensity their information, Markel llmlaY, a user con sec "The Dodosl of a specific anatomical hication of dm display correspond- at a show." latoranstion about six hundred publicly traded ing to the data item. Once a user (i.e., on or doctor) has stocks is arranged into hadostrysegmenis. Individual market thoroughly lamed the louation and moaning of tho venous cipihtliealloa of tacit cantpany dictated the relative stet of elements, the theory is drat the information shout theresent so a rectangle representing a company, and blocks within an patient con boquiekly deolpheced.Foroximplo,arm calorOf Industry segment that have similar bimodal. of poking blue may represent the ccerespondiog location of an movements are arranged next to each oilier. During a infection, and specific Mode; of colors on the chest or trading- scission a user can request an *tidal* of the display abdomen may represent recant blood-tosting results, vital when caffein information isdesised. Theodor of each block signs, patient complaints (e.g., pain), or other diagnostic ss various in twelve swiss from bright led, to Mack, to bright observations. Data excinsionsbeyonlmeskannisted thresh- green (or onothor Wettable speetedda, blue/yellow), iodi- olds can be indicator) by blinking red icons al the plotted citing the present changein prico with =pod lo a selected location. baseline (e.g., yettlerday's close). Among who many alb:advantages of the Lessor system is Significantly, the market map demonstrates many of the that, like Muskat Maw°, the dimes and changes in the ao disadvantages of daunt information overload, without ego- irons provide precious little if any information that capital- ally highlighting the news. Rectangles dictated by the wady isms upon human perizoloo, omouny or comprolgelothet. two thousand data points are squcezed into seemingly proposed placement of rectangular blocks of data is vary location on a display screen and then six hundred data completely arbitrary, other than the °twines analonty- points of a sinµle molt* (i.e., daily change) are stmulta- oriented locationsdictated by the patient data liself.Thara the ss ncously varied at the will of the market. Often there-whim examples chnorilical in the ilk:sirloin embodiment demon- conflation of data, the average user cannot Um reasonably skate a general disavgard for Inman cognition. For example, expo:led to quickly perceive changes, Id alone patterns, EFTA01181683 US 6,639,614 B1 5 unless several bon, adiacent stocks happen to change slmnitaneoesly. The rnadvalent percentage change in a done "small" stocks would not /yen be visible, albeit noteworthy, unless °iceboats., all happened within tiresome arbitrary industry segment (i.e., adjacent nactenglos), and only if dm tees happened to ho closely monitoring that area of the nap. This defeats the whole mope% of a usable atortitorlog tool. The market map display is dhadvadageously static. There Is no display motion or audible ceproentation to l indkalo any sort of change, err whether the dingo is reladvely good or bad, only got the uncludying data is presently up or down from the slut. to fad, there is no Indication at all that anything in the display half has changed—the user most attempt to remember what was previously displayed and mentally compare all 600 stocks (or it least some of there) Wien Redisplay is next mfreshod. Trarnitiom in the market map rectangles from red to black to green are shown using owns than ten variations in color, forcing a ism to perceive, toomnire, recall, and understand the sank differeoces, a damning Of not Impossible) leak who under humane pressure. Fandoxkally, since the data Icon newt change the or shape, the method limits the arnomil of visual information that muWM tosehdly displayed about any emaciate, denim. 2 Aside from the fact that SmortMoney provides illilfitiOnal information abort only a single dam metric pemenlage change since last close), it has several ether scrims draw- back. with reaped to data vipallaatix,. The market map is constructed using the fixed hierarchy of industry segment, market caps, and percentage chartMl, A user is helpica when it comes to organizing the display according to other metrics that may be preferred by the user. Even if the viewer Wild &eke. MCC Of specific arrangenawfis or collections for t000noting,theonly thing that ever chaeges la the mica. The map of the market oleos not take any advantage of the abilities of the human mind to perceive, memorize, and comprehend limited amounts of salient information or to detect charges of display motion. SUMMARY OF INVENTION The present Singes provides a new method whereby combinations of "ecologically valid" (Le., occurring in . everyday environment.) lanes and rounds ant used for 4 visualialim of large amosats of information. loom and sounds aro selected and combined to neonate natural recognition of pattern information. Aldasael Held of similar icons repeserns • coinepooding fielder data sets, where the appearance of each icon illustrates the relative values of the s underlying data. Within each icon, elements change in aim. number, color, and motion to illustrate the respective direc- tions and magnitude of changes of data within the eons- spending data set. Steneoploceic sound morrow; timing, spatial location, typo, and volume signal the user about 5 general data situation, as well as the type and inmettante of individual data changes, enknolating the user's nuanizoa during OVUM of significance. &Melina than illustrative antax/iment of limeys:ken, raa icon suggesting a recognizable life form is abated as the rto basis for virealization of a mviti-variato dal a set safe toms, snub a flora and fauna, are known to grow, move and change colors according to their inherent physical delemai- name. par example, a healthy flown such as • daisy has • green atom, and gets larger and bike, and Ins more pleb, 65 morally determined by the Ibex's onvinatateol. A shorter, brown flown that has lost most of 114 petals untold 6 too Instantly (tenpin:2d as produced by a teas ralinfackay condition. Ruthermore, a flower can wave in proportion to the breeze, and the fertility of the area around the base of a Hower may convey additional information regarding the s local trends Similarly, an auditory displayer the system selects sounds that one easily recognisable as positive or negative (i.e., good/bad). Tho sounds are then produced In loudoevo, location, and timing patterns according lo the underlying O data. For example, loud and frequent birdeloirsing swank on the right side would indicate a generally positive envinmereel, ‘vhavran a roombitng of thunder to the left would give a more negative impression. Musical sounds of varkma histrUnienlit anal bruin amid also he used instead of, 5 Of in addition to animal or weather wends. By ming an tionlogically oriented graphical icon, a wide number of different parameters can be simultaneously desolated. Motion and sound are used to highlight important changes, or to lend assurance that a status quo prevails. 20 In so illustrative Orthudialent, an icon of a daisy Is con0gared to represent financial data such as relative change in Mode price from opening, absolute stock price, standard deviation in peke, direction of change in price, volume of • trades, and thadderm hoods. These parameters are mapped to the number and size of petals, the frequency of swaying motion, the color and length of rho stem, rood the color cof the gram near the Mena The rumptherle of dingo is represented by the waving motion, what bigger changes maim the 30 waving faster. Similarly, when a sound occurs, the apprO- Male Rower lights ape, and pulses for a predetermined period with green for • higher lade, red for a lower t do The stock symbol can also appear next to such blinking flowers for a prodetennitod limo. Hundreds of nth 'did- site can then be arranged on a display, and sorted (e.g., top 35 to bottom) depending upon a user-soloctaWo choice of display parameter. Ilium Rowers can to gather sorted Into quad/ads of different types of Rowers, not just daisies, with the type of flower representing a categorical variable, such 40 as stoics from a particular industry. Positive and negative smarts are then superimposed on the display according to whether stock( are being traded for prices above or below their reaptieligro averages. Unifies the prior att, the present method includes melee- s ally valid Icons with which a henna is likely lobe familiar. This method includes a visual uniformity, salient data icons, low clutter yes higher diorautionality, and sound overlap. In addition, there are alerts to clomps (both visual and auditory), a palette of lopes, and selectable data for either a o binary condition (red/green) or a scaled meager* of Vitia- tion*, Little SeperfleOUR inftitmeliall is displayed, unlike VR approaches, and since less detail is needed, more informa- tion becomes recogroizeMe. There Is no 'change for change shier siate nothing moves unless the corresponding data has s changed. Lower attention is necessary since you're not "flying" anything, but rather planted dimly 011 the gawk background with the flowers. This method exploits Inman mental peewee of perception, memory Mel cognition The dila icons can also be simply sorted (cg., lop to bottom) by wear aciacialito panoreas to give inhered onkr to the depiction without the uffkaibility of peddined dimension- ality. Outliers are really apparent from the behavior of the lam, especially where large changes are indicated by proportional changes in sound, coax, and motion. Like picking out the image of a rabbit in a wheat field, dm human mind quickly tunes out the Irrelevant visual data. The use of EFTA01181684 US 6,639,614 B1 7 ecologically valid visual loom (edam the learning lima and operator otornion and capitalizes on the cognitive abilities of On human viewer. Similarly, the use of natural sounds facilitates recogailiee of positive or negative citanzataras or primed changes. The Mohnen, volume, solociloy, duration and other attributes of the sounds arc easily mapped by the brain to remand the corresponding Inflamelion regarding the mag- nitude and typo of Mirages aimoltamously occurring la the visual date The presence of the sounds allows the met to lock away from the computer Suseo, while being able to liana to sounds that indicate a change in the data that may requ Unlimikve int wal tion e or other process-orioned visualization rimilawk, the ecologically valid Wahl and *edible loans can be easily adapted to represent numerous types of data for )vhkh patterns and changes axed be quickly and efficiently recognized The artalysis is (booed from the oramoue correspondence for which intuition or training are Imperative, as amid be required when tang a leas:stinta The same operator, using the tame team, can apply the tool to many &Items types of data, red drag the neesseary information quickly, he it weather phenomena, Mock mallow, is other dela intensive analyzes. without Matillan ity texterstseding the underlying protases that creak the data, and urtencambered by the analytical Nejedioes spawned by such familiarity. Displays created according to the Inventive medial me Interaionallylinited with respect to the anoint of informa- tion that can he directly determined from inspection, in an effort to focus upon the most relevant fedora, their changes, anti the direction and magnitudo of mach changes. Because of the uniformity of the many iota, they can quickly be compared wills each other for ehrages, while sill observing general treads, if mammy. Directionof change is hinariscd, with the magnitude displayed only for selected changes (petals, stem, speed, sound volume), thus limiting the enamel of refined elismimination required by the user. Menges are indicated not only wkh virtual movement cal. added to stimulate the visual perception per so, but also with No simultaneous sound ocatirenee Movement speed. sound volume and location, and sound selection draw the tutees ancintke to the other ionargancous caws ISO have occurred (petals, stem length). This, the occurrences of mukkihnetaional changes are quickly recognized, along with the °maim and Interactions with other data sets. 'Minn OFSCRIPTION OP 11111 PURIM*: These sod other features of the reseal invention will he better understood in view of the following detailed draw ip. tion taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: MO. 1 flimgraks the dements of a viarral icon according to an illustrative embodiment of the splem; #1103.2a-2e Illustrates the variation of a display ernowit of the visual icon of FIO. I; Mae. 3t. &I iamb arca another vadat:au Me data-display eternal of the icon in FIG. 1; P10.4 Muammar another variation of s display element of the Icon in FIG. I; PIG. S illustrates the application of a color variation of an icon element of HO. 1; Pf0. 6 likuurales another application of color vadatkm of another podiost of a display icon as shown in the embodi- ment In FIG. 1; Pf0. 91Lustrates a portion of a system display in which a plurality of display icons is arranged in an illustrative embedimeng 8 um. 8 tabelites a corremoedence between examples of display and audible elements and data characteristics in an llkisintive embodiment; and 140. 9 diagrams a logical proems for creating au ©co. 5 logically oriented display according to an illustrative embodiment of 030 system. IMTAILED IntgettlIrflOtt The present lunation provides a new and useful data to visualization system whereby displayed eounda, visual pattern changes in the sounds and patterns, and motion din selected in a manner Mal provides eadogially valid :Mina for quickly identifying changes and noting trends. The recomilion of changes in data, their magnitude, type, and Is direction can be simplified by using appropriate visual and auditory symbols 'Jul him into steal Ili mini of cog- nitive alai pronoun( processes as well as their entledying brain mtlehasiiSMS. The goal a to design ir display that exploits what Is known about bruin mechanisms and Flu- " ciplmof graph design loonier to pmvidc both a sense of the overarching patients in way huge sets of tau and the existence of specific cases that diverge from the overall patient. 'Thom brain ineelanions are wad to mermeln, remember, and understarid objects and everts in our 33 enVitOnentits, both mural and anornitle. A use interface design incorporates three key feel/mem the display is etionniClat to Ms advantage of brain mecha- nisms that evolved to help our specks survive; both visual yr and auditory "ecologically valid stimuli" ate toad; *of the principles of mph design are applied. In particular, brain mechanisms that under& survival skills, such as those that allow us to hunt for and gather food and avoid predatory, aro of interest. CIfedive hunting requires not only the ability to 3s monitor htformatiou representing a malic landscape, but also spot and interpret a charge quickly and accurately, such as a moving Its In a forest. Thu displays rely upon images of objems (flora, firma, human artifacts and other complex NMI dyniwlo objects) =luring in the natural landscape, and everyday environ- meats in well as munch that our specks In adapted to register cosily. Our brains evolved to recognige, remember, and mason about suds objects and crest, quickly and accurately, awl the system makes use of these capacities as 4s epplkd to the display of data. By further combining the principles of graph design, the displays an bo designed to present information clearly. Unlike other displays, those designed according to the present system are compatible with the perceptual, memory and reasoning brain mamba- s° mess that we use to perceive awl interpret everyday stimuli in our environments. The system disclosed provides a multi-dered cognitive environment for pesentation of data: the auditory indica- tions of change, the vista display pattern, and the rola- ss tionship between the auditory and valet displays. Misery changes alert the rimer Out "something it, happening," at the very least. Visual patients present very large data sets, allowing discovery of the soarco of activity and changes among data elements. Once a change has been noticed, n to mot immix* of the system provides further features for selectiag or enhancing the changed icon for display of Naha detailed Information. One illustrative embodiment of the system is a display for preacessaloa and tracking of financial stocks. Auditory and 65 visual displays are than designed to signal not only the cursing global stale of the data, but elm lamp -scale changes, as well as important changes of individual aides. The state EFTA01181685 US 6,639,614 131 9 of approx Leta tely 100 stocks of interest, sad a global stale of none aerate Vein 04 she storks can be tcpeeitonteti using the features of a personal computer having a color video display and a stereophonic sound.produeing inecisinien mich as speakers or headphones, Data can too fed to die system, either in real time, or played back from a storage medium, as the user's application may require.110 auditory display indicates the meet value of the stocks, changes in this value (e.g.. with raped to opening mks), and largo changes (up or clown) of individual stocks Audade changes in the mixture of "positive" mul 'nags. live"sourdssigwl thestateof Medals sea, and Iced changes signal largo nioVentOon in an individual Mock (with differed sounds for up or down). Smuts ate distributed randomly over 30.second windows, with one event per appropriate measure. Each of the evens lasts 2 seconds. Id toms raised in Western celestes there is atm a natural scale having negative Method to the left (slated) and positive elements to the right. Negative sounds ate selected front a set of preoonligured sounds and played with a left spatial orientation, in, the loft speaker. Examples of negative sounds ale raindrops fur negative stook-mks hada al ten than a half standard deviation (03 SD) below its ad rage, whooshing wind for less than I SD below average, and a crack of thunder for a stock traded at less than 2 SD below its avenge. Examples of positive sound., played In the tight speaker, are cricket chirp, bird chirp, owl weak. for each limo a stock is traded for more than 0.5, I, or 2 SD above Its averages respectively. In all cases, the louder the sound, the larger the volume of trade with "proximately 100 levels of sound volume 'those rdationships, and other illustrative examples deactixd hciow, are snmanwired in the table of MG. S. Other see of sounds can be selected for either paha° or negative indications, °Thoth.* cerfespnnditig ad of inefOSS. ;only negative sown& might, for example, include ViOlin low auks, plario low notes (lower than the violin), and bass low notes (lower than the piano note). Similarly, a set of inereas- litgly posilivo somata could induct. violin high notes, higher piano high chords, and yet higher trumpet high notes. As described, Aura arc nix different sounds In Indkato a dkeo Iion and magnitude of change, as well as the "sound" of silent whew nothing hen chinned signilicanly. The istelquourat sounds, which represent the market as a whole (or the neepant beingeliplayed) an selected from die set of consonant ot dissonant sounds to convey conditions above or below the opening. respectively. As the average sowm above opining price Increases, the relationship among the harmonica of the background sounds will become "I:nightie or mom consonam (e.g., with 711s) and as Ike amoant below opcniog hemmed larger, the background wends will have an incroadeg degree of dissonance. The overall volume of the background. sound will reflect the volume of trades hi the market behm monitored. 10 for its information corneal. In addition, it side-losidenaotion and la/irides color can be used to highlight varietal changes to other elements. As shown in FIG. 2, the number of petals in the heed of the daisy can he changed In 'idlest° the incremental changes In stock price PIG. 2A shows • 6-peal daisy which indicates that the price banal changed. F1O. 28 shows a flower head in which them are two petals missing, thus indicating a two-paid change down from the opening price. FIG. 2C I0 shows a flower with 12petels, indicating a six point increase in price. Ibis anagemeat permits the direct display of the range from 1 to 12 petals Indicating 5 paints down or 6 points up. Each petal can also represent a dung* of 2 dellars, or some other petals en also bo wed In is indicate percent diangt, with each petal CafteSpOndina to a fixed percentage. MO. 3 illustrates an example of changes in size of the flower head to indicate absolute price of a stock F10. 3 cA show, four Piestrativo theremmor of sive, alihoogli people can notmally perceptually register and memorize up to seven different Sizes, sod the additional sites are not flies- inkcL FIG. 4 shows seven different lengths of a atom element of the daisy icon, each indicating the present student deviation of volume traded in the stock The 75 indicated baseline length indicates the moan, with the smaller stems showing 03,1 and 2 SDs down relative to the average kr that stock at that lime of day, and the larger skins oddities 03. 1, sod 2 SDs above the average. m element A fenher display which cannot be easily die- gummed in a static flew is the motion of each individual daisy stem acd head. In the Mustrative embodiment, the frequency of the side-to-side swaying motion indicates the standard deviation in price, either based relative to opening is price or a leinger-Ism rolling average. For example, a stow swaying is a low SD, whereas a wild flapping is a higherSD. MO. 5 Minimum the use of color In one of the delay educes, in flak,/ cam the stoat,, to indicate the thcclioa of champ. Green is toed to show that the pike Amigo front opsniog is upward, and fed is used if the change is doom- want The combination of stem color and length than gives a direct raring of the SD and direction of the change in Mirk price, and the ponds indicate the number of points of dung* and the absolute peke of It,. stock. Couple this data 45 display with the frequency of tho waving motion of each daisy, and you have a compelling visual display that clearly shows which stocks have experienced large percentage changes on the day. A meertelecleble feature an permit chugsof the colors for people who may be colorblind, such mj as yellow and Woe instead of meet am] red. FIG. 6 shows another use of a color element whereby the small patch of "grins" suntounding the daisy stem in coded green or brown. The selected color indicates a very short him measure of conalstaicy. A precoollguted numlse,. N of In addition lo the audible layer or dolt presentation, the as trades (0-0., selectable from 2 te 8) is membered- if N of the system of the Ithatiative embodiment includes s visual 1944vinan trades in a row have been for increasingly higher display clement comprised a a field of commonly remit prices, the grass inlaid, we but if progressively lower Marble objects that capture koy features of the data int. pekes, the grass is a dying brown, According to an ilitreirativo ombuditnent, all of the objects In FIG. 7, a background 701 of green provides a visual am comprised of identical elements to facilitate recognition so baseline for a mild perspective eknteig. A strong three- of changes. In the example sown in FIG. 1, a daisy shape dimension elect is not desirable es it woukl distort the has been selected as the basic display iron Ill. The daisy moms= illartraled by deities "Ponder away" from the has several reougalgalde ecological elements Including the viewer. The green background also provides a visual con- petala forming the head 103 of the daisy, the stem 105 bast lo thedisplay elements of each daisy kon.'llte shadow supporting the head 103, end the base 107 in which theriaLsy es of No daisy head can also be projected upon the grassy is "planted.' Each of these okmoots can be varied, forming hackneyed, In provide further visual dues as to the size and a combined display element that can be quickly interpreted motion of the daisy head. EFTA01181686 US 6,63 • 11 HG. 7 also illestruus how a set of daisies is generally softened with emir daisy represmaing data corresponding to a different Me& sod six stocks shown in the example. ilapetinventa have shown dna approximately -ono hundred daisies can be displayed on t computer wittiest losing any significant visual information or becoming ovenvladming. The icons are also. sorted. acomding lo aseeselcdtble criluia, such as go sire of the SD of price for the day the swaying freqsency), or any of the other displayed data crilosia. Tbc war can be supplied with graphical buttons on iho display that isslicide Ilw criteria for sorting the lean top ' In bottom, as well as for selection of the typo of baseline Inim which to measure changes (e.g,, Niihau average, open- ing price). Other ear sok:Mimi mats, each as sliders or radio dials could also bo used, or rem of criteria pre-defined and selected by different users or for different typos of data I displays. TM Icons °mkt even ho arranged according to irrekvant information mob as the name of the company, or the typo of incluatty, but this would lend to undermine thy pattern rcoognil ion feature of the system. However, it may bo useful to divide a large display Into segments comprising Mocks of different levels of interest to the viewer, such as a "window^ of favotile docks vapaisted horn the rem Dither display as further described below. Veen' processing in the brain la divided into two major systems devoted to spatial properties or object properties. 'Igo latter processingcm he farther divided into systems that deal with shape sod surface mope:des of objects, making a total of three oalegoriac The sot of spatial. properties Is compered of elements relating to location, change in location, speed, trajectory (straight/curved), orientation, relation of pads lo the whole, and spatial telalions among objects. The set of shops prop- erties includes form of the shape, size, number or pads, form of the parts, anal symmetry or asylum-try. The rag of surface properties Includes color (hue), sannallonAnternity, lecture, and temporal patterns (blinking, pointing), Similarly, the auclitoty proctroing of the brain Is divided into two major systems: localization and Identification. 40 Levan/AMY hufwn to the spatial cm imitation of • sound (o.g., right, kit). Icketibtation parameters iodide different lustre- menu (timbre differ...rues), different notes, different octaves. degree of consonance or dissocance, Inudoess, chord progromion, and temporal patters (e.g. warbles, lame 4 notes, rhythm, tempo, duration, decay, staccato). In another embodiment, different sots of Moder could be displayed simultaneously In different quadrants of the display, making funks. use of visual and auditory damn. dons to distinguish the sots. The flowers (or other suitable er icons) in each quadrant will be visibly different, for example having different loans, differed color In the center of the bead, or diffonsm shape. The data values will be ordered along dtineaaMen t met I fa the mow or the display, I.e., the corresondlog corner of each qatdrant. 5 In this alternative aulatmliment, a number of additional changes will ho implemental. Each fink a socmd occurs, the appropriate flower "lights ur with a color pulling for 30 seconds, wee per second, with mem to indicate a trade price is up and red Indicating down. The inn:ashy of the color will en be directly proportional to the track volume, mirroring the volume of the accompanying woods. When a flower lights up, up, its symbol can optionally appear stet remain visible, during the time the flower is lit up, as illomm law a ed by I examples 703, 705 in In 7. Furthermore, when news about a shack Amelia, erg ani- mated Wirral, such as a rabbit, will run over to the flower 9,614 81 12 and nibble on the grass beneath it. The rare OCCUnnia of news is highlighted by die highly visible intrusion by the new dein pointer—the rabbit Otter unusual marveled changes could be used to Indicate stockupeciffe changer, 5 such as making the entire flower temporarily turn block or nano ether color. Al any time during rho display, a user may alto position the mouse cursor ova a flower and obtain detailed readouts of munerIcat or graphical data foe the selected Omer. A group of flowers wild be selected and the o detailed =fouls would contain information for each own,. bra of theta:no (e.g., a multi-plot graph of trading peke for each stock selected). The border naval the display, and the background colors can also be manipulated to provide additional information. 5 Por example. changing the border color could Silicate the overall price of the macl, with green icing positive, and red being negative with more saturated and deep colors indkatiag greater changes since opening, and the intensity representing the overall volume. I/unheroic:re, the display 20 doe end of the trading day would indicate changes relative to the day as a Whole (mg., speed reposenting standard deviation of opening price from rho day). PIO 0 shows a table iodisation the data emerge of the iron and the corcespondirg type of data arewlated with the zs display shipment. As a toady mentioned, different sounds can be selected, as well as different colors. Furthermore, it whould IA appreciated that many diffeteM shapes of flowers or trees can be used equally grog. Norexample, frail trees with different branch lengths, number of leaves, number of apples, height, and cwerallabs. Diffecont typos of fruit toes mold appear in different display quadrants representing differed nets of soot Similarly, grape vines can bo with variations of number, size and color graPa• and symmetries of the grape bunches. Corn stalks bo 35 displayed with data indicated by height, number of cars, size andcolor of earn, stalks and leaves, rost movement deaths. Deciduous lines could be used, with luck ',prim foliage changing to fall colors, mid wintry exfoliation, along with variations of girth, height, size of minima of Mcanciitsfierfty, root., and amount of root spread. Palm treed an have varying leaf size and alter, height, add number and color of outs, moth like overgrown daisies. Other examples of ecologically valid visual displays include pots, zoo animals, RPM, birds, insects or people. Pot Of Onar zoological icons may vary according to body length, tags, hair color and amounts, ears, wagging talks. or hopping up and down al varying &pools or !nights. Different pets could be used in different display quadrants, and correspond- ing pet sounds incorporated into the interface Co quickly draw the user's attention to the proper quadrant for changes. Variations in fish are potrailally ntientione, hwtating colors, sizes, patterns on body, An location and length, textured, mintemenh of has or talk. Similarly, birds have 5 varying plumage colors, wing span, wing placement (open, closed, napping speed), Fashion (head up, titlyn), and activities, Bach an flying, steeping, paling a worm from the ground. heeds, 'oda. ling delta toe. OM no mina if tY wiled in simner elements as birds. People-hated {COOS can have not only naturally occarring variations, each a height, proportions, and movements (arms, legs, heads, bodies), but afro artificial changes that can be [amity recognized. These include clothing style, color, and condition. Sounds can include voices (shouting, s tearing, singing, groaning). A downmarket would be pr. frayed a4 a cluricatnre of itself with abort, stomped people with arms nailing and groaning noises. EFTA01181687 US 6,639,614 13 Other familiar environmental objects such as buildings sailboats or other vddeles ate easily recognizable and have many visually variable characteristics. Buildings have height, width, texture, color, lights on in windows, and perhaps swaying motion (as in centimetres), Sailboats have size, natter and shape and texture of sills and hulls, wind from the ono side is good, and the otter is bad. Sea tu &taboos an display global factors and other unique tags can beeasily placed on the icoos to represent problems such as a pirate flag, nt taking on too mach water (ie., sinking). s Although the system has been dessited with respect. to the remosanntion of data related to trading studs, It should be appreciated that the systan according to the illustrative embodiment is also applicable to amy large multidimemional data actabese applications may bebroadly divided into two I types rapidly changing (l.o., more than once per mindo), or slowly changing, where exploration and discoverof pnlerns will be recto impatient than ranking rapid changes. iteamples of rapidly changing data sets include the fol. bwiag: stocks and other financial iadrsments, as already deserted, MO data In various fiequeocy buds recorded from different portions of the brain and varying in time, information traffic in dillbreet Imps of a large-scale cOm• mutation network a other complex process, and health data fin hidden' patients in a hospital inlicatieg how such 2 paraders change over lime (including temperature, blood protean, MO, WOG, hum ante, or diabetic parameters, including blood sager, calories consumed, insulin taken and level of exercise). Oxamples of slowing charming data include those regard- ing census (demography), oceanography (semperalure, chemical and lift type and density), epidemiology, crime sinlistics, geology, and climate. Other examples am eco- nomic data such as unemployment rates, seders of GNP, global or regional economic statistics, corporate financial analyses (quarterly reports over limo, balance sheets, prothadivity, etc.), market survey or polling remits educa- tion lest scores (rquesenting different classes, schools, dis- tricts showing (tinges over time), and historical data such as emulation duarges, income, familyaid and occupations. The system could bo applied to information shout auction prima, display price, changes in bidding price, frequeney of bidding, age and other Information about objectsbeing sold. Still other examples Include data ham the social and a behavioral sciences (psychobgy and sociology) in which complex data ads fur evaluating conditions like depression iodate variables sad: as exercise, family history, level of social 'Mendip; and extent of axial support network. Bach person would be indicated by a separate Hower (or so other icon object) so that patterns could be viewed. Similarly, large data sets for dikes or tows inflicts infor- mation on body image and self-concept variation over the day, and other data sots include (adore trotting to develop- mental performeace on tasks, IQ, medical history, and other ss faciots whet, may he relevant to debonining useful cone- lation. Application to a corporate hybrid data sot could display personnel data relation to iartividaal modedlvity, evaluation ratings, lest scores, oompersation, and other variables. as A111101141 the system has been described according to en illtsaIMIIVe embodiment as implemented on a pawed computer, we gilled in the art will appreciate that other hopiernentationscan be equally advantageous. For example, a user can have a personal digital assistant or other handheld es device that provides the necessary visual and militate dis- plays Similarly, the audible portion on be broadcast to a 14 portable headset sera by the der. thus allowing the der to move away from the visual display, or even to operate the audible display separately. Also, a display could be trans- mitted to one or multiple minute teratt simullaneolisly by s way of a communication network property adapted for the marinate, with general purpose or specially designed means for visual and auditory display for each sacs PIG. 9 illutrates a logical mown for a system Maple- menktion of an illustrative embodiment. In step 901 the user Ion selects an icoo, or set of icons if using quadrant displays. Step 903 routes the data hems to lad elements, alone will ranges and cortespoodird colon, and how changes are to be isdkatal. Sam 9OS Interprets the data act and &playa each icon arX0rditg SO its corresponding data, as determined by the selationthips determined in the previous Nap. Whore s changes are deluded 907 from the previous data set, a sire and dined's, of change is calculated 909 and corresponding sound and visual Indications are triggered 911. If ao dungen were detected, or the ohmage indications have been triggered, thee a new data update 913 Is obtained and rho 0 systan loops back to the interpretation step 905 argil the system is terminated or data: exhausted. Other steps not specifically illustrated, het described heroin include, polling for user Inputs to change the data interpretation thresholds Or baselines, and stops for providing data tutrulnatioil tamale- s ries (e.g., end of the day). Although the system is shown and described with respect to several illustrative embodiments thereof, it should ho appreciated that the foregoing and various other change; omission:, and additions in the form and detail thereof wed 30 be implemented without changing the underlying invention. What is flaimed is: 1.A method for visualint Ion of tritilthetriale patterns and changes in large data sds comprising the steps of: selecting an ecologically valid team 35 allocating data items band of variations of icon etc- meets; interpreting a data sot forconalgtu'ation of al leaslone icon element according to a variation selected from said sot; and displaying said icon. 2. The method of claim 1 in which said step of allocating data Sans Nether includes the steps of: selecting a aol of ecologically valid sounds, each of which have variations that are genially interpreted as isid1- eating a contiruum fmm poor to good; and assigning values on the sound merman) of each said surd o sp eci0o shapes in dad. 3, The method of claim 2 in whidi said sound variations are selected horn the net of badness timber, tone, location, brightness, tempo, rhythm, deny, duratioo, combinations, and relationships among multiple sounds. 4.1103 method of claim 1 In whichsaidstepof irderincting a data set father includes the steps of: displaying a field of loons, at last one icon per data set; clog:minim on mantra lion of said field, according to al- least one data variable selected by Ilse ten. 5. The method of claim 1 in which said step of allocating data items halm includes the steps of: selecting a set of ecologically valid visual elements of aid Ieee, each of which have VerilitIOM that aro naturally interred' es indicating a contimum from pone 10 good; and wiring values on the visual cordinuom of each said vaned elentem to specific cherubs in data, 6. The method of claim 5 in which said visual variations are &sleeted from than MI of color, size, shape. location, orientation, motion, blinking, continuity, and color Intensity. EFTA01181688 US 6639,614 B1 15 7. The method of claim 5 in which ål least one of mkt Icons la a flower and said net of visual element iodides at but one dement soloded from: a number of rem]; a color of 'dab, a size of petals, a length of sawn, a color of atom, a swaying motion of nid moo, and a color of bickgrourd around kid atom. 8.The methodof claim 1 in whidi saidsley of interpreting Clutha Includes the sap of: triggering a change to a corresponding icon element Wonted form said sol of verlallorta according to wheats' a data changeexceeds a predetermined thresh- old. 9. The method of claim 1 further including the steps of seleeting a second typo of ecologically valid icon; allocating data hems lo a second sel of variations of said second icon elements; interposing g dala act for conlIguratico of at ham one of said seated iconclemerds according to said alleatino; and dirplaying said second typo of icon. 10. The method of claim 9 In which tack type of otån logically valid icon isdisplayed in a portion of a display area 20 16 separate from a portion popethicd by any other typo of ecologically valid icon. 11. The method of claim 1 farther including the steps of: arranging a display having a plurality of said Soong and visually Itiglilighltng an ken representing a data change larger than a predetermined thnshold, and maintaining mkt highlighting for n predetermined period. 12. The method of claim 1 in which said step of inter- ° meting a tiara sot fluther includes rho stop of triggering a sound indicator e.t.a a remleknnined data element in said data oat undergo.. a charge within a preletermlned time. 13. The mashed of claim f2 in which said soared indicator s S aelectod from a set of ecologically valid sound., Cads of which has selectable variations that so naturally interpreted as indicating a amtionuer from poor to good; andamidsound indicator and k corresponding variant la selected according to specific thresholds of change In said predetermined data element. EFTA01181689