[update] Actually, it was the weekend before last. I forgot to publish this post last week… I was reading a couple of unrelated articles in The Sunday Times last weekend that shared a common theme – the stickiness of information. It made me think (yes, my brain is still in recovery). On the one hand, [...]
What does the current hand-luggage furore at UK airports have in common with the UK government’s agenda for nuclear power? Absolutely nothing as it happens. They are poles apart in the way the government expects the ‘general public’* to react. (*I hate that word – it creates distracting data – and am unable to use [...]
Jon Udell has an excellent blog post showing why you should not assume that images are providing an accurate picture. He mentions reading two of Edward Tufte’s books over Christmas. Coincidentally, I was also reading some of Tufte’s work during December: ‘The Visual Display of Quantitive Information‘ and ‘The Cognitive Style of PowerPoint‘. Both are [...]
A follow on from the ‘Dashboard Dangers‘ entry. Here is a simple example of why summary information can distract you from messy realities, from a different perspective. From ‘Imperialism and World Politics, by Parker Thomas Moon, published 1927 (Macmillan) …Language often obscures truth. More than is ordinarily realised, our eyes are blinded to the facts [...]
Ah, the age old quote ‘ perception is reality’ Here’s a couple of web sites with great illusions that show how our eyes can decieve us. eChalk.co.uk – Colour Perception PatMedia – Cool Illusion Regarding the second one, I have it on good authority (my mom) that it works better if you shut one eye [...]
