Examining How We Measure Our Lives
Commentary, critiques, and observations on information design and data visualisation
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Read on…: The Demilitarised Zone
Over the weekend, the American and North Korean leaders got into an argument with the North Korean leader calling President Trump old and the American leader calling Kim Jong Un short and fat. High class diplomacy. So what holds the North Korean army, by numbers likely not quality one of the largest armed forces in the […]
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Rotten Week? At Least Today’s Friday
Read on…: Rotten Week? At Least Today’s FridayHmm, interesting week I suppose. But at least it’s Friday. So enjoy this line chart from Indexed that I thought was appropriate given some of this week’s news. Credit for the piece goes to Jessica Hagy.
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The Importance of Cartography
Read on…: The Importance of CartographyToday I wanted to share with you a piece from the BBC that explores the importance of cartography, or mapmaking, in relief efforts particularly in Malawi, a country located in southeastern Africa. This is a still from a short video—it clocks in at just a tad under three minutes—that you can watch to see how […]
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Why So Many Mass Shootings?
Read on…: Why So Many Mass Shootings?Well, the data speaks for itself. I wanted to use this screenshot, however, to show you the story because I think it does a fantastic job. Without having to read the article, the image encapsulates what is to come in the article. That said, there are a few other scatter plots worth checking out if […]
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Phillip’s Curves are Flatlining
Read on…: Phillip’s Curves are FlatliningI’ve worked on a few scatter plots of late and so this piece from the Economist grabbed my attention. It examines the correlation between unemployment rates and inflation rates. Broadly speaking, the theory has been that low unemployment rates lead to high inflation rates. But the United States has had low unemployment rates now for […]
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Murder Rates in the US
Read on…: Murder Rates in the USYesterday we looked at an article about exporting guns from one state to another. After writing the article I sat down and recalled that the copy of the Economist sitting by the sofa had a small multiple chart looking at murders in a select set of US cities. It turns out that while there was a spike, […]
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Exporting Guns
Read on…: Exporting GunsWhen I lived in Chicago, people back East would always ask if I was worried about murder and gun crime in Chicago. My reply was always, “no, not really”. Why? Because I lived in generally safe neighbourhoods. But on that topic, the second most numerous question/comment was always, why are the strict gun laws in Chicago […]
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What Does Your Name Mean? (Country-level Edition)
Read on…: What Does Your Name Mean? (Country-level Edition)Shoutout to my very good friend Jonathan Fairman for passing this one along. Browsing the internets, I often find these little adverts saying something about “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Name” or “10 Things Your Name Says About You”. They grab my attention because, as you all know, genealogy is kind of a […]