The I’ll give you an example from physics: hundreds of years ago, people believed there were different gods responsible for tides and waves on the seas, for the movement of the stars, and for why we fall down if we don’t pay attention. Then Newton came along and showed that all these phenomena have a single explanation: gravity. Once that was understood, it was possible to start exploring diversity, capturing the many different ways gravity manifests itself.

Similarly, we cannot truly understand diversity and differences until we first understand what is universal about the human existence and experience. This is not to say there is no value to thinking about diversity—that is what I do every day. But these countless independent choices and actions do add up to something larger than you and me. Which is why we must view diversity in the light of universality.

For me, the most inspiring thing about art is the fact that artistic expression lacks boundaries. It is willing to freely experiment with different media and technologies, and it possesses an unrestrained freedom to mix and utilize ideas. As soon as we started to study networks, I began appropriating concepts from the art world—not only to visualize networks, but also to think about them.

The story inside the art world in recent decades has been about breaking down universality, in search of a more diverse, de-centered art discourse. There is much anxiety about universal laws in the humanities. You are arguing that behind the multitude of everyday occurrences, universal laws are alive and well.