Examining How We Measure Our Lives
Commentary, critiques, and observations on information design and data visualisation
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Read on…: Do You Know Africa?
Beyond the fact that it isn’t a country? This week the White House hosted the US–Africa Summit. The Washington Post took the opportunity to quiz readers on their knowledge of African countries’ locations on a blank map. So this Friday, you get to take the quiz and post your results if you dare. A nice touch is that the map…
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In the World of Damnit, Man
Read on…: In the World of Damnit, ManIf you haven’t heard, there is a fairly significant outbreak of Ebola occurring in western Africa these days. The most attention has been drawn since the death of an American national in Nigeria. He had been working for the Liberian government and collapsed at the Lagos airport and died shortly thereafter. So the Centers for Disease Control has been reporting…
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Loaning Art
Read on…: Loaning ArtTwo weekends ago I visited the Magritte exhibit currently showing here in Chicago. While I would love to share photographs of some of my favourite works, I cannot. The museum staff was clear that part of the rules for exhibiting loaned work was the prohibition of photography. So that prompted me to wonder how often is artwork loaned? Thankfully, the…
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How History Repeats
Read on…: How History RepeatsThis week starts with a several-hour ceasefire in the Gaza Strip—though as I write this I am reading reports of a strike in Gaza City. So as those who can remember a few years back might recall, these sorts of Israeli–Palestinian conflicts take a certain, almost prescribed course. The New York Times today charts the parallel narratives through the use…
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Casualties in Palestine and Israel
Read on…: Casualties in Palestine and IsraelYesterday I mentioned the cost of the conflict in and around Gaza and we looked at a map of damage. Today, we look at a daily-updated graphic from the Washington Post that counts the human cost—the number of dead. Credit for the piece goes to Lazaro Gamio and Richard Johnson.
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Devastation in Gaza
Read on…: Devastation in GazaI have done quite a fair bit of coverage on Ukraine. It is a terrible story, but I have also been personally interested in Eastern Europe for awhile. But Ukraine is not the only story in the world, we have seen Gaza erupt in flames. But with the recent, temporary ceasefire, we have been able to calculate the physical and…
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Artillery Strikes in Donetsk
Read on…: Artillery Strikes in DonetskToday’s piece will not likely be the most readable for myself or most of you, my audience. But it is an interesting look at how technology can change the understanding of a modern battlefield for non-combatants. This is a map of Donetsk, Ukraine—the focus of Kiev’s efforts to defeat separatists in eastern Ukraine. The map plots artillery strikes from various…