Defining at least one topic or topic attribute;

Forming clusters, using a computer processor, from the plurality of semantic objects, wherein a cluster defines a group of semantic objects arranged by their respective relative significance to the at least one topic or topic attribute;

Quantitatively characterizing respective clusters;

Defining, for a plurality of semantic objects, a quantitative difference of the respective semantic object from the quantitatively characterized respective cluster; and

Outputting for the display representations of at least one topic or topic attribute and the plurality of semantic objects into a representational space, wherein the representational space has a lower dimensionality associated with each of the semantic objects, an arrangement of representations is influenced by a semantic relation of a semantic object and the at least one topic or topic attribute;

creating a plurality of topic or topic attribute layers, each of the layers corresponding to a topic or topic attribute applied to each respective cluster, and identifying a coordinate location within the representational space for each semantic object associated with each layer; and

defining an amplitude surface within the representational space associated with each layer by applying a smoothing function to the coordinate location representations of the semantic objects, and superimposing upon one another all of the amplitude surfaces of the respective layers.