On Pie Charts and Their Utility

 

Edward Tufte has long claimed that pie charts are entirely useless. The polemic linked in these images and below argues that there are cases where not only are pie charts useful, but they are clearer than bars or other types of charts. Consider the images above: when comparing individual segments, the bar chart is clearly superior and makes comparisons elegant and simple. However, if the intended point is to show that companies B and C control the majority of the market, then a pie chart is enormously effective. Click through for a well reasoned championing of pie charts.

Why Tufte is Flat-Out Wrong about Pie Charts

–from speakingppt.com

US Work-Related Deaths

Fishing is the most dangerous job in the US by a wide margin, with 121.2 deaths per 100,000 workers. The spread from most-to-least dangerous is substantial and there are a few surprises here: firefighters, for example, have a lower death rate than the national average. I would like to see the stats for soldiers, another hero-type profession along with police offers and firefighters, but it was sadly not included.

–From NPR

The Data-Driven Life

From Vanity Fair, an article about the data-driven life. Very funny. I personally don’t particularly embrace the “Quantified Self.” My wife may disagree. I love to analyze numbers and do it every work day, but that’s my work. The best times I spend with friends and family are not about data.

James Bond by the Numbers

This chart shows the number of kills, martinis, and evening adventures of every Bond. Does not include Skyfall.

–from The Economist

Causes and Rates of Death, 1900 vs. 2010

This fantastic chart shows the number of people per 100,000 who died of various causes in 1900 vs. 2010. The most obvious change is that death rates are collectively much lower than they were 110 years ago. It’s quite striking to see how good humanity has become at extending our lives.

–From the Washington Post

Providing Context for Data

Data360 was recently featured as part of PlaceMatters’ participatory design blog series. The series explores different tools employed in civic engagement, and our post focuses on understanding employment data. If you are interested in learning more about unemployment on a national, state, and local level, then please click through the link below.

Providing Context for Data

US Population Distribution by Age, 1950-2050

How Big is a Billion? A Trillion? What Does Bank Derivative Exposure Look Like in Printed Currency?

The image above places an average-sized person next to $1,000,000,000 stacked on a pallet. Click through the link to see the size of the major US bank’s derivative exposure amounts if it were printed and stacked. The stacks of bills are significantly larger than the skyscraper-sized headquarters.

–From demonocracy.info

World Income in PPP Dollars. Where Do You Stack Up?

This chart shows the world’s monthly wages in purchasing power parity US dollars. If you click through the image, you can enter in your wages and compare them within your country and across the world. Give it a try!

It’s worth noting that although average wages are fairly high, median wages are much lower. The average is pulled up, of course, by the extreme wages of the world’s super-rich. For example, the average US wage listed here is $3,263 a month, but the median US wage is only $2,197 per month.

Charting Presidential Wealth

This chart shows presidential wealth in millions of 2010 dollars.

-from chartporn.org and Time Magazine