Examining How We Measure Our Lives
Commentary, critiques, and observations on information design and data visualisation
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Read on…: Losing Ground
If you want a better understanding of the difficulties facing Louisiana in the coming years and decades, you should start with Losing Ground. It’s a very nice experience that integrates data and narrative along with maps and written word and spoken word to show how badly the wetlands have degraded. Credit for the piece goes […]
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Falling Costs of Medicare
Read on…: Falling Costs of MedicareMedicare is one of those things that everybody has feared in terms of its impact on our long-term debt and deficit. The New York Times looks at the falling projections over time through a nice, animated line chart. The accompanying article places the cause for these to two factors. First, technical reductions that mean behaviour […]
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Judgmental Philly Map
Read on…: Judgmental Philly MapHappy Friday, everyone. To help you waste some of your time today, here is a link to a set of maps of various cities. The twist? They are judgmental. So here is the map of Philadelphia. Though, to judge this piece, it looks more like it is a map of Jersey than Philly. Credit for […]
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Maps of London
Read on…: Maps of LondonA little while back, the Guardian posted an article about an exhibit in London chronicling the history of the city through maps. This is from the time of two competing cities: London and Westminster through to the modern era when those two cities have merged (along with others) to become greater London. Credit for the […]
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Where the Youth Are Going
Read on…: Where the Youth Are GoingPlaces need young people to support old people. A gross oversimplification, I admit, but a good basic principle. This piece in the Washington Post looks at that shifting balance across the United States. This map and the others supporting it show which areas of the country may have problems in the years to come, especially […]
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Twitch.tv
Read on…: Twitch.tvTwitch.tv is a site where people can go to watch streaming video games. While it is not quite my thing, it is a thing for enough people that Amazon bought the site. The New York Times took a look at Twitch’s popularity. Credit for the piece goes to Gregor Aisch and Tom Giratikanon.
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FAA Fire in Aurora
Read on…: FAA Fire in AuroraLast Friday a fire in an FAA centre in one of Chicago’s suburbs shut down air traffic in the Chicago area. You know, not a big deal. So the Chicago Tribune made a small graphic to show just how much of a difference a closure of air space can make. Credit for the piece goes […]
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Linguistics Are…Um…Fun?
Read on…: Linguistics Are…Um…Fun?So today is Friday and that means it is time for some…um…lighter than usual content. Consequently we have a map from Quartz looking at the preferred use of um or uh. Credit for the piece goes to the Quartz graphics department.
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Ebola on a Plane
Read on…: Ebola on a PlaneDefinitely not really, but far more interesting than snakes. Today’s piece comes from the Guardian. Admittedly, the piece and thus the data is a month old, but it still is an interesting way of looking at the impact of the Ebola outbreak in Africa. The graphic begins with a map highlighting the spread of the […]
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Investigating the NYPD for Excessive Force
Read on…: Investigating the NYPD for Excessive ForceSometimes complaints about excessive police force are frivolous or vindictive in nature. Sometimes, however, they are legitimate. In New York, the Civilian Complaint Review Board is the first line of investigation. It makes recommendations that the NYPD then takes up. Or not. This piece from WNYC looks at how the NYPD has responded to those […]