Rezeption und Tradierung als Komplexes ... - Maximilian Schich

IV.3 Sequenzen und Netzwerke 193
„In aempting to give a systematic presentation of so complex a subject
maer [i.e. shapes of time] one would be inclined, as in the natural
sciences, to look to the mathematicians for some paern to serve as a
descriptive principle.
The mathematical concepts of series and sequence came to mind, but
aer some thought these appear to be too special for the problem at hand.
However the less known field of networks or directed graphs seems to be
considerably more suitable.
We are concerned with the variety of stages in the creativity of the human
race. From one stage one moves to another in the development. There
are a variety of directions which may be selected. Some represent actual
happenings. Others are only possible steps among many available ones.
Similarly each stage may have occurred among several possible steps
leading to the same result.
This one may picture in a general way by the mathematical concept of
a directed graph or network. Such a graph consists of a
number of points or vertices or stages. Some of these are
connected by a direct line, an edge or step. At each stage
there is a fore number of alternative edges which may be
followed, and also a number of incoming edges from which
this stage could have resulted. The actual development
corresponds to a (directed) path in the graph and it is only
one among many possible ones.
One may ask whether the graphs we should like to consider are of a special
type among the many directed graphs which can be constructed. There
seems to be only one essential restriction, that the graphs shall be acyclic,
that is, there exists no cyclic directed path returning to its original stage.
This essentially corresponds to the observation about human progress that
it never returns to the previous conditions.“ 76
Ore schwebt im Gegensatz zu Kubler ein vollständig verbundenes Netzwerk von
direkten Bezüglichkeiten vor. Kublers Sequenzen funktionieren auch ohne diese
direkte Bezüglichkeit. Er stellt Reihen von ähnlichen Gegenständen auf, bei denen
nicht sicher ist, ob sie aufgrund von einer Abhängigkeit der Gegenstände untereinander
oder aufgrund anderer äußerer Umstände korrelieren.
Ein eminenter Vorteil von Kublers Sequenzen ist, dass sie sich wesentlich einfacher
rekonstruieren lassen, als Ores gerichtetes Netzwerk.
An den wenigsten Objekten finden sich bekanntlich explizite Zitate, die auf ältere
Vorbilder hinweisen. Die Ähnlichkeit zwischen einem Objekt und einem potentiellen
Vorbild lässt sich hingegen in der Regel sehr einfach beobachten. Wir erkennen
leichter ein rhinozerzos unicornis als die Tatsache wer es von wem abgezeichnet
hat.