Looking at data really can be exciting
Many of us work in professions that can involve analyzing data. Financial data, scientific study data, engineering data, demographic data, public health data – the list goes on. And looking at an endless stream of numbers can be yawn-inspiring. But just yesterday I was mentioning to a colleague that when it comes to data visualization, I have a hero. He's a doctor and public health researcher named Hans Rosling. This guy has a knack for getting people excited about the data that excites him. His cool data visualization approach not only helps to make the endless stream of numbers interesting, it helps to make the analysis possible.
Rosling realizes that the human brain can use certain visual cues like size and color and motion to show trends in data in a way that are instantly meaningful to people, and that by combining them we can easily track several variables at once.
Take a moment and check out the following video
For more on Rosling's data, check out Gapminder.
What could those sorts of data techniques do for the data you work with, the data you care about? Leave a comment with your thoughts.
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I am waiting for your Ayn Rand post.
ReplyDeleteI have taken a lot of heat for liking a lot of what she has to say..not EVERYTHING, just the few major points that we discussed over Vinny's Pizza.
Coming soon. :) Maybe not next, but soon.
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