Ternary plots of public interest in cultural human-nature interactions: Google Trends-based culturomics of the mediterranean olive triptych

Abstract

Abstract The Mediterranean olive triptych –i.e. the conceptual integration of an ecosystem (the olive-grove), a product (olive-oil) and a nutrition/diet scheme (Mediterranean olive-based diet)– is a discernable cultural model in Europe. In this paper, we attempt to explore the potential and limitations of statistical analysis of compositional data –especially ternary plotting techniques– vs. typical representations of Google Trends-based Conservation Culturomics. In that perspective, typical representations of GT-data in published Culturomics literature, e.g. reference term/country/language/time, are considered as descriptors of variation of public interest (2D trend lines, 3D graphics and triangular projections). Ternary plots, i.e. a typical representation of compositional data, conventionally differ significantly from the previous representations, since the primary GT-data are weighted so that ternary sum equals to 1 (or 100%). We present the technique for such a calculation method. The comparison of these representation techniques allows for strongly diverging interpretations. Lower level interpretations show significant differences between (Mediterranean) countries and/or groups-of-countries (Mediterranean vs. non-Mediterranean) where higher ternary compilations do suggest that cultural pattern across Europe actually diverge. The overall conclusion of this research is that GT-based Culturomics should overcome earliest simplistic approaches, such as linear regressions; and, it has to progressively construct a new epistemology where the significance of accumulation of empirical evidence should be strictly connected to scientific paradigm shift.