Visualizations
Follow-up. Data: dimensions. Basic graphs.
Gapminder. Excel. Wordle.
Homework: Postings: research and
experiment.
Follow-up from guest lecture
• Summarize?
• ?
Natural Language Processing
• Text to
– text or
– data extraction
Speech recognition
• input is sound wave captured as electrical
amplitudes and frequencies
• first step is doing Fourier Analysis to
encode sound wave as set of sine waves
• next step is segmentation: divide into (best
guess) at syllabus (phonemes)
• THEN use statistical approach and/or
grammar approach to make matches
NLP and Speech reco
• Can combine
• For each, issues of scope, speaker(aka user),
training or not
• Distinct applications
–
–
–
–
–
limited (directed) speech
dictation
data extraction
translation
???
Consider
• several possible topics for presentation
• I will demonstrate duolingo.com which I
am using to learn Spanish!!!
– another possibility for presentation topic
Objective
… of graphs, charts, diagrams, visualizations is to
represent data. Typically data is sets of numbers
or sets of other information.
Examples:
• height and weight of some set of people
– possibly with other characteristics and over time
• GDP, average longevity of countries
– population, region, over time
• frequency of words in a piece of text
Caution
• If you don't have much data, then not
much to do…
• if data is wrong or definitions not
understood or misunderstood, ….
Preview
• Next Monday: guest speaker curator from
Neuberger present artist visualizations
Organization / conference /
competition / links
• http://www.visualizing.org/
2012 Olympic medal count
• Issues
– what counts? How to weigh types of medals?
– Adjustment for population
• what about wealth of country?
• http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/0
8/07/sports/olympics/the-best-and-worstcountries-in-the-medalcount.html?ref=olympics
Gapminder
• http://www.gapminder.org/
Excel graphs
• Construct data
• Bar graphs
• When are pie graphs appropriate?
• x-y graphs
• bubble graphs
Wordle
• http://www.wordle.net/
Dimension
• The term 'dimension' is used for any
attribute of a thing, not just
height/width/length
• Gapminder examples appeal (I think)
because of quantity and dimensions of
data
– dynamic representation of time
– color for regions
– comparisons
Napoleon's March
• … into Russia 1812-1813
• Called by Edward Tufte (and others) the
best (and still the best) graphical
visualization.
• Use Google to get multiple versions
• Your opinion?
My Ds mnemonic
• definitions
• denominator
• dimensions
• [what's the] difference
• data sources
• distribution
The point of visualizations is to show these
things (and others?)
Examples
• … and excuse to start reminding you to
vote
• http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/
• http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/201
2/07/27/new-york-not-as-blue-as-it-couldbe/
Example
• Drawn to show electoral votes (and
assessment on how states will vote)
– dimensions of size versus population
http://elections.nytimes.com/2012/electoralmap
– Note: the geographic view does not
accurately display Alaska or Hawaii in position
and size!!!
– Try multiple maps (scenarios) + our own?
If
these visualizations make you less likely to vote
because New York is predicted to be solidly
Democratic…
• popular vote will count in terms of mandate
• there are down ticket contests
• increasing the youth vote will make younger
people be more important to politicians
• good to get into the habit
• people have died for the right to vote!
Example
• Periodic table of visualization methods (!)
Periodic table: http://www.visualliteracy.org/periodic_table/periodic_table.ht
ml
– assumes the periodic table has meaning for
viewers
Timeline
• http://www.datavis.ca/milestones/
– on visualizations
• http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visual
izations/mountains-out-of-molehills/
– see also http://www.informationisbeautiful.net
Tools
• http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/92
15504/22_free_tools_for_data_visualizatio
n_and_analysis
• http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the
_best_tools_for_visualization.php
Note / caution / repeat
• If you don't have much data, then
visualization does not help
– if data is (potentially) misunderstood or
misleading
• Think about Ds
Homework
• Decide on presentation topic and make proposal to the
appropriate moodle forum
• Postings: usual plus
– any visualization topic
• Tools
• Edward Tufte:
– Home page (not that easy to navigate and mainly tool to sell his
workshops and books which are excellent:
http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/
» Forum: http://www.edwardtufte.com/bboard/q-and-a?topic_id=1
» Critique of PowerPoint for lectures!
» etc.
Next class: guest speaker on artist visualizations