When I started this blog lo so many years ago (Summer 2003) it, amongst other things, acted as a repository of all the cool things I came across. In addition to my own ramblings, I wanted to keep track of stuff found online. I also hated losing the graphics/charts/tables when a site went dark.
That leads me to posting an occasional infographic. Okay, a lot of infographics, perhaps a few too many.
That’s why I found this particular piece so amusing:
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Category: Digital Media, Humor
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
I must say that it has got to the point now where many info graphics make data MORE difficult to understand than either reading the raw data or than using a simple graphical presentation such as a pie chart. Info graphics are no longer useful when they become self-indulgent and presumptuous to the point that the presentation of data is lost to the presentation itself.
In this respect, this inphographic makes its point very clearly!!
Ah, the truth about Infographics:
- Ending the Infographic Plague
- http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/12/ending-the-infographic-plague/250474/
Infographic Plague ?
I am much more concerned with the War on facts. Perhaps we should bring the same vigor to the plague of garbage text pushing nonsense.
Its ironic that this post came from of all people Megan McArdle of the Atlantic, who may have uttered the single most silly sentence about the financial crisis:
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2009/07/no-financial-villians/
Just to illustrate my earlier point, using the recent publication of the latest “Big Mac Index” .
This is the original Economist presentation of the data:
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/07/big-mac-index
And this is the Infographic of the same data:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/presenting-big-mac-index
Now it may be just me but I find it easier to assimilate the data from the original Economist presentation. In the Inphgraphic version, the graphics get in the way of a clear understanding of the data.
This short article has an easy to read and understand infographic:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/guest-post-davos-shocked-hear-poor-people-exist
Davos Shocked To Hear That Poor People Exist
“Ok, I exaggerate. But that’s my cynical first impression after finding the following diagram in the briefing book for the gathering of the good and the great at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
(infographic illustrating most pressing “concerns”)
Source: World Economic Forum
As you can see “Severe income disparity” is #1 on the Top 5 risks list this year, after having failed to make the short list for the preceding 5 years.
Now it’s not as though the attendees of Davos were completely inattentive to the economic plight of the less fortunate all this time. “Economic disparities” was on last year’s laundry list of risks and was featured prominently in the executive summary of 2011′s report. But the urgency has been ratcheted up quite a bit this year: note the new modifier “severe” and the use of the more specific “income” rather than “economic”. But wait, there’s more.
Compare 2011′s anodyne language:
the benefits of globalization seem unevenly spread – a minority is seen to have harvested a disproportionate amount of the fruits. Although growth of the new champions is rebalancing economic power between countries, there is evidence that economic disparity within countries is growing.
with this year’s:
Dystopia, the opposite of a utopia, describes a place where life is full of hardship and devoid of hope. Analysis of linkages across various global risks reveals a constellation of fiscal, demographic and societal risks signalling a dystopian future for much of humanity. The interplay among these risks could result in a world where a large youth population contends with chronic, high levels of unemployment, while concurrently, the largest population of retirees in history becomes dependent upon already heavily indebted governments. Both young and old could face an income gap, as well as a skills gap so wide as to threaten social and political stability.
They actually used the “D” word. Remember, this is not the research paper of some grad student with a flair for the dramatic. This document was written in part by Swiss Re and Zurich Financial Services — two of the most solid P&C insurers and re-insurers in the world. Their only business is the identification and management of real world risk. When you start hearing the language of Huxley and Orwell on the slopes of the Swiss Alps, then you’d best believe that something fundamental has shifted and that a lot of the rich and powerful are more frightened than they used to be.”
I am here for the love of graph/graphic/data. Of course it’s all meaningless when manipulated. Some with an artistic lean find it quite lovely. I even get a kick out of different colored utensils used for information. I especially like the in your face language.
If you’re afraid that bookmarked pages go blank, then I recommend you have a look at ‘ScrapBook’. It’s an extension for Firefox and possibly others. Works very well for me. It works much better than the build in ‘save page as’ feature (which really doesn’t work well at all). Strips out any script, allows you to add highlights and remarks. Also you can delete parts you don’t need/like.
All saved pages will be organised into a scrapbook menu, just like the bookmarks menu and can be easily exported (and reimported).
I say keep up the info graphics. They add visual appeal and often, understanding
Finally, my kind of infographic. I love Big Picture at the very same time I avoid any drunken scrolling infographic. No big deal, but all in all have to hang with Megan McArdle on this one.
The one about the MPAA was lame, but like most that come out awful that was in execution; a single chart cross-referencing their earnings before and after disruptive tech would probably have worked better.
I suppose that’s similar to good writing; it’s all about the research and execution. Even when they stink it’s nice to see the artist at least try. I’m good with numbers but many people aren’t and those charts really do help to explain to them what’s happening in our world.