One of my favorite things about my series of Wade’s Favorite Ted Talks are the unique ways educators and scientists view a problem and the interesting ways they approach a solution. David McCandless, who describes himself as an “author, data journalist and information designer,” delivers this compelling TedTalk about data mining and ways to visualize what data really means.
Data visualization is nothing new…you have done it if you’ve ever created a pie chart or a bar graph for a report. But McCandless offers a new perspective into what it means to be a “data detective,” finding ways to delve into the numbers and truly understand them.
When McCandless began to consider himself a data journalist he started hearing the phrase, “Data is the new oil.” This metaphor did not match his own interest in the field so he adapted it to say, “Data is the new soil, because for me it is a fertile, creative medium.” This is a fascinating view, as “creativity” and “data mining” are terms that seem in opposition. McCandless demonstrates how this is possible. Enjoy.
Two things:
1) The ‘Billion Dollar-o-Gram’ shown in this talk is from 2010; it has been updated to 2013. It still addresses military spending, charitable giving, etc but now it includes ‘hustling’ (tax evasion!). Click here to see it: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/billion-dollar-o-gram-2013/
2) McCandless now has an ‘Information Is Beautiful’ contest and the 2013 contest is now open. You can see the categories, which include “Best IDEA for a Data Visualization Scribbled on a Cocktail Napkin” (no data required!) by going to David’s website: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/ To see last year’s winners click the ‘spirography’ icon… or use this url: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2012/information-is-beautiful-awards-the-results-are-in/ If you want to see the LONG LIST of great vizs it’s here: http://www.informationisbeautifulawards.com/2012-longlist/ And just for good measure… this is my favorite bookmark from that contest–super fun to show kids: http://www.numbersleuth.org/universe/magnify/
Any other data viz groupies out there? Stephen Few fans? Tufte Devotees? I’d love to swap favorite viz links! 🙂
~Michelle