There is a recurring argument that line chart baselines must start at zero, because anything else would be misleading. The critique is misguided.
Nathan Yau
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Why Line Chart Baselines Can Start at Non-Zero
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Tiny chip manufacturing, visually explained
Microchips have gotten tiny. Like smaller than a red blood cell tiny. Financial…
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Where to see the total eclipse
There’s a total eclipse (a real one, not of the heart) happening on…
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If we didn’t have leap years
For CNN, Amy O’Kruk and Kenneth Uzquiano asked what would happen if we…
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Rock map of Scotland
Harry Jefferies shared his grandfather’s 30-year project:
My grandpa who is 85 started… -
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Visualization Tools and Learning Resources, February 2024 Roundup
Every month I collect tools and resources that help you make better charts. Here’s the good stuff for February.
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Algorithmic road trip to visit a street named after each day of the year
Ben Ashforth set out to visit a street named after a day of…
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McDonald’s Locations vs. Golf Courses
There are thousands of McDonald’s locations, but there are still more golf courses in the United States. This seems surprising, but some maps make it clear.
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Interactive LED basketball court
During the 2024 NBA All-Star weekend, the basketball court was essentially a giant…
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Map of most common domesticated animals
Based on data from the USDA Census of Agriculture, this map by John…
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Feeling Rested with Age
How much you sleep each night matters, but more importantly, it’s about the quality and if you feel rested when you wake up.
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Looking for a Denominator
To decide if values are high or low, sometimes you have to divide the numbers for a relative comparison instead of an absolute one.
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Love: math or magic?
This American Life tells the tales as old as time:
When it comes… -
Data-driven running journal
K.K. Rebecca Lai ran her first marathon. She recounts her training and the…
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Rise of Caitlin Clark, scoring machine
Caitlin Clark, a basketball guard for the University of Iowa, has been steadily…
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Race and Occupation
Asian workers are more than three times more likely to be physicians. What other jobs jump out? What’s it like for other races and ethnicity?
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Better or Less Bad
People like to judge charts by pointing out all the things that are wrong, which is limiting in practice.
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BrailleR, a R package to improve access for blind users
From CRAN:
Blind users do not have access to the graphical output from… -
Diva-ness of national anthem renditions
You’ve probably heard various renditions of The Star-Spangled Banner, and sometimes singers put…
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Consumer confidence in current economic conditions
For NYT Opinion, Nate Silver compares consumer confidence between two surveys. The University…
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Second Edition
Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics (2nd Edition)
Visualize This: The FlowingData Guide to Design, Visualization, and Statistics (2nd Edition)
New tools, refined process.
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