Data Visualization

   Earlier in November, I mentioned that I wanted to do a post on MOOCS, Massive Online Open courses.  I still want to do that post, but once again, another topic has pushed a discussion about MOOCs further into the calendar year.

   Data Visualization, or Data Viz, is an emerging technology field that combines skills connected with three fields: communications, design and programming.  My guess is that if you’re reading this, you’ve seen many examples of Data Viz, especially after this recent election cycle.  Data Viz takes a data set and portrays it visually.  These infographics are often eye-catching.  Additionally, many are interactive, allowing the viewer to control the data that is viewed or create an opportunity to see a relationship between sets of data.

   It may sound a bit complicated, so it might be helpful to think of Data Viz as graphs and charts on steroids.  In the Data Viz world, programmers attempt to give viewers new and useful ways to examine data. The premise is that a well-crafted visualization may allow a viewer to understand a data-driven topic in a new and useful way.

   Here’s an example that portrays relative incidences of a number of diseases as they are found around the world. 

For a full look at this visualization, click here.

   Mike Bostock works for the NY Times and is responsible for many of their notable data visualizations.  Bostock's  map of Hurricane Sandy’s wind speeds as the hurricane came ashore might be of interest, given recent events. Click on the “Next” button towards the top of the map to see the information change over time.

For a full look at this visualization, click here. Click on the “Next” button towards the top  of the map to see the information change over time.

   Treemaps are one fairly familiar data visualization type.  Here, a finite amount of data is first divided into component parts. Then, these parts are represented by different sized sections proportionally to the total data set. In the following example, the US stock market is divided into categories of stocks (health care, financials, consumer goods, etc.) and these sections are further divided. Scrolling over this treemap yields deeper market data. See for yourself right here.

   This outstanding example pops up now again as someone’s emailed favorite: http://www.gapminder.org/world/  It is really beautifully done and shows how, with the right representation of data, new understanding is created.  In this case, the relative wealth of nations as it connects to life expectancy is portrayed over the last two centuries.

   It’s worth considering that Data Viz (also known as DV to insiders) is a growing field of academic study. Course work, and even concentrations within majors, has become part of computer science programs and design programs.  Journalists, social scientists, graphic designers and scientists increasingly find DV part of their field.  My guess is that it won’t be long before data visualization finds its way into high school curricula.

   Interested in  exploring the topic further?  There are many sites to check. Here are a few to get you started.

http://infosthetics.com/

http://visualisingdata.com

http://bost.ocks.org/mike/

 

Taken For Granted

   I was all set to write about MOOCs - Massive Online Open Courses.  I've been paying attention to the phenomenon for  a year or two.  Last month, the Chronicle of Higher Education ran a cover story on their growing importance.  And just this week-end, MOOCs occupy the cover of the Sunday N.Y. Times education supplement.  But MOOCs will have to wait.
   Hurricane Sandy struck a week ago.  There is simply nothing I can add to the coverage, the images and the accounts of the devastation.  It's been a tragic, trying time in the NY metropolitan area and everyone in the GSB community has been affected.  And has been widely noted in our area, the storm follows a series of other weather-related events, all in the fall and all in very recent memory.  The freak October snow storm that hit Schooley's Mountain and Washington Township so hard.  Hurricane Irene.  The Halloween snow storm. And now Hurricane Sandy.  Though each was a separate weather event with its own set of characteristics, all induced widespread power outages that exposed our collective vulnerability to power loss.  
   We are extremely dependent on a secure and unlimited source of electricity. When it is unavailable, we quickly lose an ability to communicate effectively, to transport ourselves, to feed and to warm ourselves.  Speaking from personal experience, it's amazing how quickly you feel somewhat disassociated from not only the routines of your life, but from societal norms. And when it is available, it immediately is forgotten, simply part of our landscape, no more noteworthy than the oxygen in the air.
   So I decided to devote a short post to the people who had a lot to do with the research and the creation of devices that have allowed us to use electricity for practical purposes.  Especially this past week, we're acutely aware of how much we have come to depend on their collective work. You may dream of a life that is free of electrical dependence, but it's unlikely you'll live that life.
   A quick search turned up a list of people that form a continuous thread of electrical understanding.  Some did pure research and others were driven to find practical applications for electricity. I'll just list names.  If someone is unknown to you, take this as an opportunity to find out a bit more about electricity. It's one way not to take it for granted.  By not taking it for granted, it is more likely you'll pay more attention to policy debates about how best to provide for our substantial, and growing appetite for electricity.

Can you match the names and the portraits?

 

Benjamin Franklin

Alessandro Volta

Michael Faraday

Georg Ohm

Hippolyte Pixii

Joseph Henry

Thomas Davenport

Sir William Grove

James Joule

Samuel Morse

Charles Brush

Thomas Edison

Nikola Tesla