Every picture tells a story … don’t it?
Sam Castillo and Brian A. Fannin
September 19, 2019
Where to find this
This presentation may be found at: https://pirategrunt.com/soa_symposium_2019/
Code to produce the examples and slides: https://github.com/PirateGrunt/soa_symposium_2019
What we’ll talk about
- Semiotics
- Practical advice for data visualization
Semiotics
9
For statisticians there always have to be comparisons; numbers on their own are not enough.
- Gelman and Unwin
Which of these two numbers is larger?
11
9
How about these two?
1011
1001
These?
IX
XI
And these?
9
B
These?
十一
九
These?
11
9
How about these?
nine
9
neun
1001
九
IX
nueve
Arabic or sanskrit are no more legitimate than any other representation of numbers.
Be prepared to accept the idea that there are circumstances when geometric primitives may be understood faster.
Another comparison
999999999
99999999999
These two?
999,999,999
99,999,999,999
What does an order of magnitude look like?
This is actually too much information
This is better
Statistics maps a set of many numbers into a set of fewer numbers.
## Min. 1st Qu. Median Mean 3rd Qu. Max.
## 3534 7854 9562 9973 11644 24476| metric | x |
|---|---|
| Min. | 3,534 |
| 1st Qu. | 7,854 |
| Median | 9,562 |
| Mean | 9,973 |
| 3rd Qu. | 11,644 |
| Max. | 24,476 |
| metric | x |
|---|---|
| Min. | 3,534 |
| 1st Qu. | 7,854 |
| Median | 9,562 |
| Mean | 9,973 |
| 3rd Qu. | 11,644 |
| Max. | 24,476 |
Summary statistics are always a reduction of information.
Visualization presents (almost) all of the data. The reductions are made with our eyes.
Potential complaint
Focus on visual design places undue emphasis on superfluous characteristics like color, font, etc.
What’s the most important word in the text which follows?
The rate for territory X must be increased by 10.4%.
And this one?
The rate for territory X must be increased by 10.4%.
“Inessential” matters. Emphasis is an element of communication and therefore comprehension.
Are you ready to buy stock in this company?
This year we plan to build on last year’s renewed profitability.
Practical Advice for Data Visualization
A real life example: improving my diet
Speed test: which is healthier, left or right?
Limations of the nutrition label
- Serving sizes are inconsistent
- Converting units requires a calculator
- Each food has it’s own label
- Data collection is slow
Instacart orders
My daily calories for the last four months
Setting a daily benchmark
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Calories | 3000 |
| Protein (g) | 125 |
| Total Fat (g) | 150 |
| Saturated Fat (g) | 0 |
| Trans Fat (g) | 0 |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 600 |
| Sodium (mg) | 200 |
| Carbs (g) | 600 |
| Dietary Fiber (g) | 25 |
| Sugars (g) | 40 |
Percent of daily benchmark
Percent of daily benchmark
Exploration
- Speed
- Iteration
- Agility
- Many dimensions
- Tidy data
- R and Python
Communication
- Simplicity
- Professionalism
- Consistency
- PowerPoint, Tableau, PowerBI, D3.js
Visualization is a process
R for Data Science, Hadley Wickham: https://r4ds.had.co.nz/
Default template
With a custom template
Do Not Repeat Yourself (DRY)
Import then transform then visualize then add a custom theme
The best graphs are easy to read
- What are the y-axis “density” units?
- How can this be translated into english?
The best graphs are easy to read
- In english: “There are just over 2,000 hospitals with between 30 and 50 readmissions”
Graphs should be unambiguous
A step in the right direction
Showing uncertainty
Color wheels are helpful
## [1] "#0000FF" "#8000FF" "#FF00FF" "#FF0080" "#FF0000" "#FF7F00" "#FFFF00"
## [8] "#80FF00" "#00FF00" "#00FF7F" "#00FFFF" "#0080FF"Complimentary colors are opposites on the color wheel
## [1] "#4682B4" "#B47846"Use the colors specific to your brand
Company website
R colors
Emotional intelligence matters
How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
- Realize that you can’t ‘win’ an arguement
- Let the other person see the pattern and come to the conclusion themselves
- Put yourself in the other person’s shoes
- Use familiar language
- Be friendly
- Get the other person saying “yes, yes” immediately
Three-point summary
- For exploration, focus on speed, iteration, and flexibility
- For communication, focus on professionalism, simplicity, and consistency
- Realize that data viz is just like any other mode of communication such as speech, text, and body language
Thank you!
Where to find this
This presentation may be found at: https://pirategrunt.com/soa_symposium_2019/
Code to produce the examples and slides: https://github.com/PirateGrunt/soa_symposium_2019