Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Visualizations answer questions by highlighting patterns and outliers. For
example, changing the color of an element that is significantly different from
its neighbors, tracking the relationship of two lines over time, comparing two
columns that are side by side are ways to graphically illustrate a pattern that
may not be immediately apparent.
In Figure 2-1, an early chart of the “radar” or “polar” type, comparisons of
causes of mortality are compared in the Crimean war. The red areas are used
for war wounds, blue areas are for preventable diseases, with black for all
other causes. It is immediately apparent that disease significantly outweighs
any other cause of death on average. Indeed, barring September, war wounds
are still outweighed as a cause of death by all other types.
The chart in Figure 2-1 easily illustrates, at a glance, a weighty amount of infor-
mation. The chart visually describes how the deaths from war wounds grew and
how quickly they grew, but it also shows how the increase in disease-related
death outweighed the war deaths. Both causes of mortality grew earlier and
carried on growing after the war wound deaths started decreasing.
FIguR e 2-1
One of Florence Nightingale's early charts
