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The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
Tufte begins with the different kinds of informational graphics (maps, time-series, narratives, and relational graphics), describing their origins and evolution and presenting examples of excellence in their design. Many of these are fascinating in their own right -- two that I particularly appreciated were Minard's depiction of Napoleon's disastrous retreat from Moscow and an 11th century map of China.
"For many people the first word that comes to mind when they think about statistical charts is 'lie.'" Tufte gives examples of different kinds of deceit in graphics, along with some principles for maintaining graphical integrity. He goes on to consider the reasons for the poor quality of many informational graphics: one is the relegation of their design to those with art training but without an understanding of either the substance of the material or of quantitative (statistical) methods.
Part two begins by introducing some terminology and theory for describing graphics. The principle "Above all else show the data" is formalised as maximization of the data-ink ratio, and illustrated with some "before and after" examples of erasure of redundant or non-data-ink. Tufte excoriates various kinds of "chartjunk": moire vibration (the disconcerting effect caused by repeating patterns), the overuse of grids, and the "ducks" created when the design takes precedence over everything else.
Tufte gives specific suggestions for the design of box plots, bar charts, and scattergraphs. He argues for the use of multifunctioning graphical elements -- building data measures or grids out of the data itself, for example, by using labels that also show the end points of the data ranges. And he looks at ways of maximizing data density (within reason) and using "small multiples," or repeated smaller graphics. A final chapter steps back to consider the balance between text, text-tables, tables, semi-graphics, and graphics -- "Given their low data-density and failure to order numbers along a visual dimension, pie charts should never be used" -- and to touch on the aesthetics of proportion and scale.
All of this is liberally illustrated with examples, drawn from across the natural and social sciences. Despite the space devoted to these, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information packs a lot in, avoiding repetition or verbosity. Tufte's own tables and graphs are appropriately effective and the volume as a whole is elegantly put together: though it's more than that, it could be appreciated simply as a work of art. Tufte also finds room to survey publication practices across a select sample of international newspapers and journals, comparing the data density of graphics and the proportion of relational graphics (involving at least two variables that aren't temporal or spatial).
Most obviously, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information should be read by those involved in writing, editing, or designing documents or displays that contain statistical graphics -- from professional editors, technical writers, academics, and journalists right down to high school students. But others may appreciate it too: it has changed the way I look at informational graphics.
Danny has written over 700 book reviews. You can purchase The Visual Display of Quantitative Information from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the (recently updated) book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.
-dB
"It if was easy to do, we'd find someone cheaper than you to do it."
In a nutshell, it's KISS for charts. Get rid of the cruft and let the data speak for itself.
This book also made me realize consciously many of the features that make me like the graphs/maps/charts that I appreciate. When done right, you can pack a lot of information into a small presentation area.
Also see Tufte's page or two in the Challenger Accident Investigation Board Report on PowerPoint use in NASA.
Overheard recently: "I go to customer sites. They show me their Powerpoint presentation. I show them my Powerpoint presentation. And we think we've communicated."
The problem isn't with power point, the problem is that is lowers the barrier for an incompetent speaker to put together a speech - a good speaker, however can use power point to do amazing things. IE, just yesterday I was at an hour long presentation where a librarian told us how to use the library. It's was just slide after slide of URLs and paragraphs she read from the screen. On the other hand, a few years ago, I saw an excellent speaker use power point to give a talk on the basics of string theory. He used power point well - as a way of organizing his diagrams and animations.
But that's just the problem: they are over the top. Not everyone is an aesthete.
Most people would rather just type a few lines into a PowerPoint template and flash it onto an 800x600 screen, rather than hire a team of graphic artists to develop a diecut 1200dpi offset-print folder of reports which draw a visual metaphor between daVinci's visions and last quarter's sales in the Kansas region. And most of the time, audiences would rather skim than study, too.
I see Tufte as belonging somewhere between Knuth and Escher. If you consider his valid points and enjoy the energy he brings to the craft, great. But keep pragmatism in the process too: if it's good enough, ship it, and refine it for the next revision.
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The "corrected" chart is worse than the original. The author says "I re-did the chart in Excel, and you can see that a real chart tells a very different picture: actually, it's the middle classes that carry the greatest share of the tax burden, however you look at it."
Balderdash and poppycock. Why are you splitting the top 5% into two groups? Why, to make their contributions look smaller! That's a deliberate deception. How about if you combined the top 2-5% with the top 1% and show the top 5% as one group? The top 5% pays 56.1% of all income taxes. The middle class and the lower class combined pay 43.9% So tell me again who pays "...the greates share?" The rant is titled "Damn Lies." It doesn't bother to inform you that it's the ranter who's telling them.
(And for what it's worth, a bar chart was a poor choice for this graph. A pie chart would be preferred.)
"The legitimate powers of government extend only to such acts as are injurious to others." Thomas Jefferson.
This book, and its predecessor "How to Lie with Statistics", have been described as "The Elements of Style" for graphics. But William Strunk Jr. would have been horrified by the title. Visual Display? What other kind of display is there? A better title would have been "Displaying Quantitative Information". Having said that, I greatly enjoyed the book, and learned much from the 1st edition. Anyone working with graphics should read it.
This is another case of people espousing somewhat academic ideals because they're either idealistic or posturing. Much like the methods academics would suggest for general programming, a lot of the examples in this book assume a populace that has the ability to understand them. This isn't to say that we shouldn't know the principles behind information display, but those can be had in much simpler books, with more real world examples. Sure, it's cool that the Okinawa train schedule packs a ton of info into an efficient area, but it's also a daunting read for the uninitiated. People deal best with once piece of information at a time. It reminds me of web sites that use menus based on a 3d sphere of text, or interrelated sliders. It may make perfect sense to some people, but not to all. Truly, KISS.
I don't get any sense from the review whether the changes make it worth buying the new edition if I already own (and have committed to memory) the first edition.