From Reading to Viewing

I have noticed that as of late, I have not had a lot of time to read but I have been able to watch (or listen to) some really lectures and presentations. I will start, in the near future, posting notes on these lectures similar to the Readings. I think I will call Viewings.

"Why We Lie" by David Livingstone Smith

Apparently, telling lies is a deeply rooted evolutionary trait instilled in our DNA for a very long time. The book covers a variety of ideas on why we are so good at telling lies, including a long section about self-deception and some ideas on why we are so good at hiding information from ourselves.

Interesting tidbit: The average person tells three lies every ten minutes, many of the lies the individual would not consciously recognize that they were telling a lie at the time.

"Visual and Statistical Thinking: Displays of Evidence for Making Decisions" by Edward R. Tufte

Another essay. This one is geared towards making sure that data presentations address the correct questions and show the data in a way that allows for a quick and accurate analysis of the given data set. The essay features a combination of original data presentations (such as documents from the Challenger accident) and remakes of the presentations that allow for a better understanding of the data.

Interesting tidbit: Data does not bear out the famous conclusion of the 1854 London Cholera Epidemic. Namely, new cases cholera were already on the decline when Snow removed the infamous water-pump handle.

"The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint: Pitching Out Corrupts Within" by Edward R. Tufte

This is hardly a book at all, but is more of an essay. It is a wonderful summary of why one feels discontent and ill informed after sitting through a lengthy PowerPoint presentation. Tufte starts with a detailed accounting of the communication processes that led to the Challenger accident. He then proceeds into many common presentation flaws commonly made and he even includes some suggestions for compensating for those flaws.

Interesting tidbit: NASA engineers were required by policy to provide technical analysis (not just the conclusion) in PowerPoint.

"Envisioning Information" by Edward R. Tufte

I truly love Tufte (someday I will own his books and will no longer need to share them with the library). Where Visual Explanations was about using images to explain data, Envisioning Information focuses on conveying information in a way that allows views to quickly process data sets.

Interesting tidbit: Many techniques of data presentation have degraded tremendously as data presentation tools have entered the main stream. For example, think of how many times 3D bar charts are used in a way that makes it difficult actually compare difference of numbers.