Kaj_Sotala comments on How to always have interesting conversations - Less Wrong

45 Post author: Kaj_Sotala 14 June 2010 12:35AM

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Comment author: Kaj_Sotala 14 June 2010 01:13:27AM 1 point [-]

Made the picture a bit smaller.

Comment author: rortian 16 June 2010 03:48:09AM 0 points [-]

A png version would look a lot better. Did you use pajek to make it?

Comment author: Kaj_Sotala 16 June 2010 04:11:11AM 0 points [-]

StarUML. Which was probably a pretty bad tool for it, but it was what I had installed.

Comment author: rortian 16 June 2010 04:51:16AM 2 points [-]

So the nice thing about pajek, and some other network displaying software, is that you can use algorithms that will attempt display things that are closely related to each other closer together. If I were going to produce your graphic I would:

  1. Get the graph in memory some how, for one this size I would just set up some hash maps in irb
  2. Write a text file where each line consists of two nodes that are connected seperated by a tab.
  3. Use the software here: http://vlado.fmf.uni-lj.si/pub/networks/pajek/howto/text2pajek.htm to get a pajek file
  4. Open it in pajek and preform a physics based layout algorithim
  5. Export to png

It's pretty cool what you can get out form this (I made this: http://a3.twimg.com/profile_images/56256047/bhtv3d.png Network of bhtv coversations) and there's a lot to be gained by checked out what ends up near the center etc.

Let me know if you have any questions. I'd be glad to help.

Comment author: Kaj_Sotala 16 June 2010 06:41:09AM 0 points [-]

Oh, that sounds great. Thank you - I've actually been looking for something like that for a while now.

Comment author: cupholder 14 June 2010 01:22:57AM 0 points [-]

Looks good.