John Heilbron at the Telegraph Hay Festival in 2011. Source: Alamy Stock Photos. More about this image found in John Heilbron at the Telegraph Hay Festival in 2011. Source: Alamy Stock Ph...

Figure 1. (left) Schematics of gravitational lensing reproduced from Sanitt and schematics of gravitational lensing reproduced from Gott and Gunn. In this diagrammatic world, there is only one reading—for any trained astronomer, the paths of the light rays show a gravitational lens. Originally p... More about this image found in (left) Schematics of gravitational lensing reproduced from Sanitt and sche...

Figure 2. (left) Spectroscopic data showing the emission and absorption lines of 0957+561 A and B. To the trained expert’s eye, the similarity in these peaks and valleys is shocking. Originally published in D. Walsh, R. F. Carswell, R. J. Weymann, “0957 + 561 A, B: Twin Quasistellar Objects or G... More about this image found in (left) Spectroscopic data showing the emission and absorption lines of 095...

Figure 3. (left) Image of Abell 370. The suspicious arc can be clearly seen along with several galaxies. (right) The model produced by Soucail et al. The arc gets meaning through the model—no longer a mystery, it is now a lensed image. Originally published in G. Soucail, Y. Mellier, B. Fort, G... More about this image found in (left) Image of Abell 370. The suspicious arc can be clearly seen along wi...

Figure 4. Analysis of CI 2244 and Abell 370 by Lynds and Petrosian. Once again, the style of argument begins by showing a confusing image. The image is given meaning through the model. In the model, the cause is explicit: gravitational lensing. The model produces a meaning, the meaning is grafted ... More about this image found in Analysis of CI 2244 and Abell 370 by Lynds and Petrosian. Once again, the s...

Figure 1. Cover page of a 1914 issue of the Chinese periodical bowuxue zazhi with a black-and-white depiction of jellyfish and hydras. The cover page shows the underwater world of aquatic life beneath the surface: Physalia-utriculus Eschs with gas-filled bladder floating on the surface and lon... More about this image found in Cover page of a 1914 issue of the Chinese periodical bowuxue zazhi with a...

Figure 2. A contemporary photograph of freshwater jellyfish C. sowerbii , believed to be native to the Yangtze Valley in China. Note the resemblance of this figure to that shown in figure 3 . Image source: OpenCage (CC-BY-SA-2.5 license) via Wikimedia Commons. More about this image found in A contemporary photograph of freshwater jellyfish C. sowerbii , believed t...

Figure 3. Sowerby’s freshwater jellyfish in 1940. Notice that by 1940 Arthur de Carle Sowerby still called the Chinese freshwater jellyfish L. sowerbii , not the modified C. sowerbii. Note the resemblance between this figure and that shown in figure 2. Source: Arthur de Carle Sowerby, “Some R... More about this image found in Sowerby’s freshwater jellyfish in 1940. Notice that by 1940 Arthur de Carle...

Figure 1. Sign used during the first observation run of the prototype to inform people that the parking lot next to Building 20 (right side) was closed. Source: Presentation, “Some of the Lives of Richard Benford on his retirement from MIT and the Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Resea... More about this image found in Sign used during the first observation run of the prototype to inform peopl...

Figure 1. The Forum on Physics and Society’s Los Alamos Meeting. Source: Los Alamos Photo Laboratory, Neg. No. 73198-6. APS Archive. More about this image found in The Forum on Physics and Society’s Los Alamos Meeting. Source: Los Alamos P...

Figure 2. The directors of the APS Summer Study. L–R: Robert Socolow, Dan Hartley, Marc Ross, Sam Berman. Source: Editorial, “Summer Group Focuses on Efficient Energy Use,” Physics Today , no. 9. (1974): 75. More about this image found in The directors of the APS Summer Study. L–R: Robert Socolow, Dan Hartley, Ma...