And it would make an awesome poster 🙂

The vast area in the center of the circle would be solid, representing “common knowledge”. The area outside would be filled with variable-length linear spokes projecting outwards from the surface of the circle, representing current work in various scientific fields. A breadth-first approach to knowledge would then be represented by traversing the circle, while a depth-first approach would be represented by moving in the direction orthogonal to the circle’s tangent line.