Readings 02: Why Visualize?
The main readings are intended to give you a sense of why we do visualization, and why we bother to try to do it correctly. This “Why Visualize” question will lead us to the how. This week, we’ll also introduce the concept of critique - since it is such an important tool for design.
If you haven’t done the first week’s readings, please do them first.
This week’s readings are in two parts: one on the “main content” (why vis), and the other about critique. There is a connection.
You should read the first readings before doing this week’s discussion (Online Discussion 02 (due Tue, Sep 13)). We’ll talk about the second readings in class on Wednesday (but it is OK to read them before or after lecture). You will need to read them for the end of the week survey and future classes.
The first part of the readings look at the “Why Vis” question from the “what can a visualization do” perspective. What are the reasons why we would choose to make a visualization? You should read these before Wednesday’s lecture (for the discussion). There is a second part of “why” - “Why does Vis Work?”, what are the perceptual and cognitive foundations? That I took out of this week since we have enough to read. We’ll read about this later in the semester.
The second part of the readings talk about design process and critique. This is much more immediately practical: we will be doing a lot of critique in class.
This week, we’ll also talk about critique and redesign practice, since it is a primary tool we will use to learn about visualization. There are readings about that. Which include some examples of critique gone wrong.
This week, we’ll read some Tufte - who deserves explanation since he is an important “historical” figure. Last year, some students noted in the course evals that I didn’t explain him well enough to students who weren’t aware of him. So this year, I will be more explicit - since there are lessons to learn (both from and about him).
Many of these readings are book chapters, so you might want a reminder about the Books they come from.
(optional) Why Visualize: From Information to Wisdom (Preface and Chapter 1 of The Functional Art) (online at publisher) (theFunctionalArtCh1.pdf 7.8mb)
This is a great introduction to thinking about data presentation from a journalist’s perspective, with Cairo’s great use of examples, clarity, and connection to a bigger picture. It’s optional since it’s a little off topic (it’s more about Data Journalism), and a little redundant with the other Cairo readings. But it might feel weird to start with Chapter 3 (which is required, next).
(required) The Beauty Paradox (Chapter 3 of Cairo’s The Functional Art) (theFunctionalArtCh3.pdf 11.4mb)
This chapter gets into the philosophy of evaluation. Cairo has an interesting (and non-academic) perspective. We’re reading this now (rather than when we get to evaluation) because it’s good food for thought, and it has a good discussion of Tufte, so you’re prepared when you read him next.
(required) Graphical Excellence (Chapter 1 of Tufte’s The Visual Display of Quantitative Information) (1-VDQI-1-GraphicalExcellence.pdf 33.8mb)
Tufte’s fame, style and personality can get in the way of his message (see my discussion). Cairo (above on the list) will help us understand that. But, there’s no denying that Tufte has had influence - and there is a lot to learn from him.
Once thing to note with Tufte: he makes his points through critique of examples. His conclusions don’t always follow, but he has nice examples. This chapter is Tufte at his best: good examples showing that visualization can work. Below, we’ll see Tufte at his worst.
Critique
We will be talking about how to critique and practicing critique in class. Usually, we just critique – but one of my goals in this class is to teach people to do it more effectively. These readings will hopefully give you some things to think about, although ultimately, I think it just takes practice.
(required) Understanding Critique (Chapter 1 of Discussing Design by Adam Conor and Aaron Irizarry, O’Reilly Books, 2015). Chapter available online as a sampler from the publisher. (pp. 7-25, 18 pages)
This is part of a whole book on how to critique productively.
(required) Visual Statistical Thinking (Chapter 2 from Tufte’s Visual Explanations (pages 26-53; 27 pages). (3-VE-2-Visual-Statistical-Thinking.pdf 25.1mb)
This used to be part of “Why Vis” - you visualize because it might save lives. Except that Tufte’s critiques are problematic. So an equally important lesson is how not to do critique.
This is Tufte at his worst. He describes two historical examples. The point is historical examples where visualization could have saved lives (John Snow’s map of the London Cholera Epidemic and The Challenger Disaster). However, his oversimplification of the role of visualization in these situations makes his points forceful, but incorrect to the point of being unethical.
The reading on redesign (below) will help us see his flawed critique practice. For (optional) interesting takes on how wrong he was (including the ethics issues) see Kosara’s blog and a more technical analysis by some engineering ethics writers (paper) (conference presentation). There’s also a great Freakanomics podcast that talks about the Challenger disaster (weblink) and makes it clear that a visualization wouldn’t have helped - no matter what Tufte tells Congress.
But let this be a cautionary tale… critique and redesign are great tools for learning. But don’t forget that we have the benefit of knowing the answers. Hindsight makes a lot of things easier.
(required) Design and Redesign ( Medium posting by Fernanda Viegas and Martin Wattenberg)
The authors are two well known visualization researcher/practitioners who have worked together for years (they are now at Google). They use examples and explanations to show how critique and redesign can be an effective tool, and give advice on how to do it well.
The reading has a great critique of Tufte’s Challenger chapter (above) that shows why it is not good criticism, and that his redesign isn’t good practice either. And they will give you advice on how to do it well.
Unfortunately, they also give you some of the examples I like to use in class for practice. I guess I need to find new ones.