Readings 01: What is Visualization?

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This week’s readings are a but unusual because this is an unusual week. Because class starts on Wednesday, I assume that you are reading this stuff later in the week. But you should read it all before trying to take the end of week survey. In most weeks, the readings are divided to be read in relationship to the lectures. This week, everything is for the end of the week since it’s a short week.

One thing to get used to: the course materials (like this reading description, and the “weeks-in-vis” postings) are (often) a reading unto themselves. View it as part of the required reading (it will provide information, and insight into what you are reading/doing, etc.)

Another thing to get used to: the readings are meant to present viewpoints. Many weeks, I will give you a variety of different things to read with the idea of giving you multiple viewpoints. In many (most) CS/Math/Engineering classes, the readings tell you “the” answer; readings are the objective truth to refer to. With this class, many of the topics don’t have a single correct answer, or have conflicting viewpoints to consider, or have some historical angle that is worth considering, … Sometimes I will intentionally give you things I don’t completely agree with because they can be thought provoking. In all cases, they are things I think you will benefit from reading.

Some of these are from textbooks (see the Books). A secondary goal is to introduce you to the people you’ll be learning from this semester (including me!). Reading isolated chapters from a book can be tricky because you lack the context. Here, we’re starting from the beginning in two of them.

  1. (required)  Read over the course web (at least the stuff on the Getting Started page) is an important part of the required readings. It’s a big part of the “What is this class and how does it work?” learning goal (see the Learning Goals) page if you’re curious.

  2. (required)  My 1 - What Is Visualization and How do We Do It? tutorial (which includes multiple pages) which echoes the introductory lecture. This will give you a sense of where I am coming from, and where we are going to. This reading is important because I might not get to all of it in class (and not everyone makes it to the first class).

    The What Is This Class and Why? is also an important part of this, but you should have read that already (it was required as part of the “first” thing up top).

  3. (required)  What we talk about when we talk about Visualization (Chapter 1 of The Truthful Art) (theTruthfulArtCh1.pdf 5.7mb) This will be your first exposure to Alberto Cairo’s books. These are discussed at Cairo: The Truthful Art and The Functional Art. I recommend reading the preface (below under optional) first.

  4. (required)  What’s Vis? (Chapter 1 from Munzner’s Visualization Analysis & Design) (Munzner-01-Intro.pdf 0.3mb) This is the main textbook of the class, and is important to get the main ideas. Read what I have to say about the book Munzner: Visualization Analysis and Design.

  5. (required)  Two Blog Postings by Robert Kosara: What is Visualization? A Definition and The Many Names of Visualization.

    Read these to get a viewpoint different than mine. Robert is a visualization researcher at Tableau (and in academia before that).

Optional Readings

  1. (optional)  For a great (but optional) introduction to Cairo’s style and philosophy, read the “Introduction” (which is before Chapter 1) (theTruthfulArtCh0.pdf 7.7mb). It will help you appreciate the book a lot more.