Comments on: On the Brink of the Abyss You Don’t Want to Be Pushed http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/on-the-brink-of-the-abyss-you-dont-want-to-be-pushed/ Effective Charts and Dashboards for Excel users Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:31:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Journalism grows a new leg. « Pink Elephant Consulting – Toronto Advertising Agency http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/on-the-brink-of-the-abyss-you-dont-want-to-be-pushed/#comment-25818 Journalism grows a new leg. « Pink Elephant Consulting – Toronto Advertising Agency Mon, 13 Dec 2010 16:49:33 +0000 http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/?p=1943#comment-25818 [...] ends with Google search. Being critical about obtained information and digging deeper beyond any amount of spin on a story is obviously [...] [...] ends with Google search. Being critical about obtained information and digging deeper beyond any amount of spin on a story is obviously [...]

]]> By: links for 2010-11-25 « Science Training for Journalists http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/on-the-brink-of-the-abyss-you-dont-want-to-be-pushed/#comment-23725 links for 2010-11-25 « Science Training for Journalists Thu, 25 Nov 2010 23:11:16 +0000 http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/?p=1943#comment-23725 [...] On the Brink of the Abyss You Don’t Want to Be Pushed Apparently, the data was too boring, and the graphic designer decided to spice up the story a bit. But the chart was published in Expresso, a very popular Portuguese weekly newspaper, and given its high standards, I want to believe that's not the case. So, only unforgivable ignorance and/or negligence can explain this. (tags: statistics data visualisation examples) [...] [...] On the Brink of the Abyss You Don’t Want to Be Pushed Apparently, the data was too boring, and the graphic designer decided to spice up the story a bit. But the chart was published in Expresso, a very popular Portuguese weekly newspaper, and given its high standards, I want to believe that's not the case. So, only unforgivable ignorance and/or negligence can explain this. (tags: statistics data visualisation examples) [...]

]]> By: AdamV http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/on-the-brink-of-the-abyss-you-dont-want-to-be-pushed/#comment-13176 AdamV Thu, 08 Jul 2010 07:53:06 +0000 http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/?p=1943#comment-13176 Of course, it is quite possible that the future figures have been predicted based on projecting the current growth rate forwards in a linear fashion with some minor adjustments (eg for changing age groups in a population, working or drawing a pension for example), so the (almost) straight line chart simply shows these *predicted* figures *predict* a roughly straight line. All of this is speculation - I bet charts from ten years ago looked very different from the actual figures we see today around the world. I would give the chart designer the benefit of the doubt and accept that they might just be stupid, not mendacious. They probably fell foul of simply drawing the points one at a time, labelling them in their graphics drawing package as they went along, and simply lost sight of the context. This is akin to doing this in Excel with text labels for years, instead of real dates (as Jon/Jorge point out in different ways) so the context of a timeline is lost into simple categories. Of course, it is quite possible that the future figures have been predicted based on projecting the current growth rate forwards in a linear fashion with some minor adjustments (eg for changing age groups in a population, working or drawing a pension for example), so the (almost) straight line chart simply shows these *predicted* figures *predict* a roughly straight line. All of this is speculation – I bet charts from ten years ago looked very different from the actual figures we see today around the world.

I would give the chart designer the benefit of the doubt and accept that they might just be stupid, not mendacious.
They probably fell foul of simply drawing the points one at a time, labelling them in their graphics drawing package as they went along, and simply lost sight of the context. This is akin to doing this in Excel with text labels for years, instead of real dates (as Jon/Jorge point out in different ways) so the context of a timeline is lost into simple categories.

]]> By: Jorge Camoes http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/on-the-brink-of-the-abyss-you-dont-want-to-be-pushed/#comment-11074 Jorge Camoes Wed, 26 May 2010 15:13:17 +0000 http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/?p=1943#comment-11074 @Jon: As you know, if you use a date, Excel applies the right spacing even if you use a line chart (<a href="http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/expresso-correct2.png" rel="nofollow">here</a> both are line charts) @Jon: As you know, if you use a date, Excel applies the right spacing even if you use a line chart (here both are line charts)

]]> By: Jon Peltier http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/on-the-brink-of-the-abyss-you-dont-want-to-be-pushed/#comment-11069 Jon Peltier Wed, 26 May 2010 13:59:23 +0000 http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/?p=1943#comment-11069 This is the classic illustration of the difference between X axes in Excel's line chart and XY chart. The line chart spaces data points evenly, leading to the hockey stick in the publication. The XY chart spaces data points according to X value, leading to the more gradual increase in the last chart. In fact, it looks like Jorge drew his two charts using the exact same data but with the two different chart types. This is the classic illustration of the difference between X axes in Excel’s line chart and XY chart. The line chart spaces data points evenly, leading to the hockey stick in the publication. The XY chart spaces data points according to X value, leading to the more gradual increase in the last chart.

In fact, it looks like Jorge drew his two charts using the exact same data but with the two different chart types.

]]> By: Jorge Caldeira http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/on-the-brink-of-the-abyss-you-dont-want-to-be-pushed/#comment-11064 Jorge Caldeira Wed, 26 May 2010 12:38:28 +0000 http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/?p=1943#comment-11064 Hi Jorge, It´s easy to see bad charts everyhere. In March-April, when companies (big companies) start to explain their results to shareholders, it´s like a leasson of "don´t ever do this!". We can´t be so hard on them. Sometimes it takes time to do it right. When I see Stephen Few writing about good and bad charts, I always think of Armani trying to make everyone use the right clothes. We have to be patient because not everybody has the know-how (technical and visual) to elaborate the best graphics. About the chart in "Expresso", maybe the political tendencies of some journalists leads them to use graphic skills to present results in a special way or are we just seeing some ignorants in charts? Thanks for your blog, it´s a piece of art. We have do have a coffee at the "paredão/marina de Oeiras", one day. Jorge Caldeira Hi Jorge,

It´s easy to see bad charts everyhere. In March-April, when companies (big companies) start to explain their results to shareholders, it´s like a leasson of “don´t ever do this!”. We can´t be so hard on them. Sometimes it takes time to do it right. When I see Stephen Few writing about good and bad charts, I always think of Armani trying to make everyone use the right clothes. We have to be patient because not everybody has the know-how (technical and visual) to elaborate the best graphics.

About the chart in “Expresso”, maybe the political tendencies of some journalists leads them to use graphic skills to present results in a special way or are we just seeing some ignorants in charts?

Thanks for your blog, it´s a piece of art.

We have do have a coffee at the “paredão/marina de Oeiras”, one day.
Jorge Caldeira

]]> By: Matt Smedley http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/on-the-brink-of-the-abyss-you-dont-want-to-be-pushed/#comment-11027 Matt Smedley Wed, 26 May 2010 03:45:21 +0000 http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/?p=1943#comment-11027 I agree with Clint in that there is probably something to the idea that the editor took a little poetic license to make the story more "interesting". Nice post! I agree with Clint in that there is probably something to the idea that the editor took a little poetic license to make the story more “interesting”.

Nice post!

]]> By: Clint http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/on-the-brink-of-the-abyss-you-dont-want-to-be-pushed/#comment-11021 Clint Wed, 26 May 2010 02:54:49 +0000 http://www.excelcharts.com/blog/?p=1943#comment-11021 Jorge, ever heard the old chestnut "If it bleeds it leads"? I say this is two parts deliberate sensationalism 1 part visualization ignorance. Newspapers are in the business of selling newspapers and advertising. The more shocking a story it is, the better it will sell so there is an inherent incentive (conscious or unconscious) to make any story as -- I shall be nice and say -- compelling as possible. The designer likely, IMHO, did as instructed by the editor and/or author to dress up the data a bit and was probably uneducated in why what s/he was doing is very bad from an information visualization standpoint. If the designer is trained in information visualization and also did this on purpose then s/he is complicit in the lie. Nice deconstruction by the way. Jorge, ever heard the old chestnut “If it bleeds it leads”? I say this is two parts deliberate sensationalism 1 part visualization ignorance.

Newspapers are in the business of selling newspapers and advertising. The more shocking a story it is, the better it will sell so there is an inherent incentive (conscious or unconscious) to make any story as — I shall be nice and say — compelling as possible. The designer likely, IMHO, did as instructed by the editor and/or author to dress up the data a bit and was probably uneducated in why what s/he was doing is very bad from an information visualization standpoint. If the designer is trained in information visualization and also did this on purpose then s/he is complicit in the lie.

Nice deconstruction by the way.

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