Visualization much?

Slagsmålsklubben by Tomas Nilsson

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Data becomes uninteresting when we're unable to make any sense of it, lost without directions or a purpose, in a mashup of numbers and words, only raw values. Yet, it is this pureness that is beautiful; Conveying facts without distortion, it is an objective representation of life.

Innately data has it own set of stories to tell, though these are not immediately distinguishable, often requiring some amount of effort to sort, and a context provided for them to exist in. The use of statistics & visualization helps this storytelling, by making all these information easily relatable, through the use of graphical elements.

Aesthetics is visualization's main strength, yet, one must be mindful when designing & consuming these representations: integrity of data and the inherent story must still come first. This additional layer of storytelling could be slighted with inconsistancies, or have misleading points added through human bias, making it stray from the initial story. It is important to remember that the function of visualization is secondary, seeking to inform, and it is when these two successfully overlap, that the clear feeling of enlightenment is felt.

 

Probability of death by Flowing Data

Journalism aims to provide objective data that is accurate, and the emphasis on finding solid reports, makes the storytelling and graphics good. The above is a simple line chart, which displays the increasing probability that you'll die within a year, given your age. It is free from fancy graphics or other kinds of chart junk: The data is presented in a clear & concise manner with choice design elements that make the story better. Labels are used inform, and important points are highlighted on the axes, providing context to help us see why this data is interesting. The use of line widths and color help make it easy for readers to understand the story readily. Finally, the story is properly based, with the data's provider listed at the bottom.

The seemingly impossible is possible - Hans Rosling

Ideally, each data set should already have a form best suited for them already, be it a info-graphic, a map, or a timeline. In addition, good narration can be used to provide a compelling story-telling experience and well designed interactive components aid people in their task of looking for data. In 2007, Hans Rosling, a professor of International Health and director of the Gapminder Foundation, gave a talk titled The seemingly impossible is possible. Early on in the show, he used a data plotting applications, the Trendalyzer, which turns complex global trends into lively animations. Financial data of countries appear as colorful bubbles, and dance to a timeline which advances, in relation with Rosling's enthusiastic voice and conviction lends a humanistic element to the data, which brightens as the data float across the grid – toward better national health and wealth. The same Trendalyzer is available on the Gapminder site, which is interactive, with filters for each country, allowing users to toggle the data for comparisons.

Having said this, data visualization can be viewed as a powerful storytelling aid which artists, journalists & programmers can make use of to highlight trends and changes. It's purpose could be to provide an objective report, to evoke emotions, or as a form of entertainment. Yet designers must be careful when shaping data into these aspects, leaving personal views outside of the visualizations. With that, well-designed visualizations have data which show naturally, letting it telling a story that will provoke thought & action for many.

20XX - when robots have ruled the world

In the US, algorithms are already reporting the news
 - 30 Mar 2010

This kind of automated aggregation however..

Algohohohoho

A world designed for, and increasingly controlled by algorithms? Most definately a scary notion, quite like a sci-fi dystopian novel. In the video, Kevin listed several examples: espionage tactics, stock prices, movie scripts and architecture, as areas which complex computer programs have been used to aggregate information and decide outcomes, automatically, without human moderation. Outcomes which any normal human being would find surprising/baffling. A kind of reverse-serendipity, if you will (more like "What the sh*t?").

Algorithms are shaping our world; Yes, but only if we allow them to. Kevin makes a point to highlight that the technological-world is pretty much active, and is capable of producing consequences that have advanced beyond our designs. The Flash Crash example which he cited, revolved around the trading of cyber intelligence on Wall St. and the the high-speed computation frequencies between blackbox algorithms, all operating without human interventions.


No shenanigans, k?

... Thankfully, our local web new aggregators are much dumber, and function OH SO MUCH differently from business intelligence; In contrast, they run at a snail pace, reason being that THEY ARE GENERALLY RELIANT on the inputs of many netizens and in-house regulators, PROVIDING DATA TO HUMANS (mostly).

Take Digg for example: News contributors posts links of news content from the web, and it's algorithm ranks them for display based on the amounts of user diggs/votes, with some degree of randomization. The latest and most highly voted links float up the list, and is seen by more visitors.This gives us a snap-shot of what the citizens of the internet are thinking about at the moment.

Other forms of online news aggregation: Delicious allows registered users to share and tag links, assigning subject matter which can be searched by others. Reddit's approach let users cut/paste extracts of articles, providing a quicker read. There is also the aggregator-of-aggregators, Popurls, which displays top stories of the above sites.

Personally! The best thing about social-algorithm-aggregation, as opposed to traditional mainstream syndications, is that it offers an alternative insight, of pop-culture, collected/shared by the internet... which sometimes prove serendipitous.

Track on successful surival check, DC10

Transparency & accountability through technology: Track the money gives US citizens a report on the $787 billion "Economic Recovery" stimulus spending program. It faces the challenge of bringing the huge amounts of data centrally, in order to answer questions such as "Where is the money is going?", "How is it being spent?" & "How many jobs it has created?" etc.

Still, even if all the data is out there, would people be able to make sense of it?

"I want you to say it with you, with meaning, brother!"

To help visualize all these, several tools are made available on the site. Example: this view for the global breakdown of funding utilizes simple bars and charts to convey the scale of distribution for each of the 3 funding categories, and their various programs, all in relation. No chart junk. Also, these views make use of interactive components, such as rollovers, which help layer the information, and reduce the initial complexity of each data set, like Tufte suggests.

Lights-On map, Edward Tufte

Speaking of Tufte, the Lights-on map, which was designed by him, gives viewers an overall sense of the project's coverage over time. It overlays fund recipient information with geographical data, and shows the distribution over a period from February 17, 2009 to December 31, 2010, by having nodes appear gradually on a map, with a graph on the side plotting the total amount spent over this time. Really neat.

.. and because of the open nature of this project, maps like the above can be created by any developer, an aspect which I find really interesting! The Recovery API is made open to public, and allows all these data to be queried by custom applications. This allows writers, programmers & artists to craft out stories and tools to help make further sense of all these data, in a journalistic format.

Check: http://www.propublica.org/tools for more stories and apps!

//TODO: Food in video games?

Sight, sound & scent: Old airport road

Soundscape and visuals, on location @ Old airport road

Here in a nostalgic place once again, on a Sunday when I should be sleeping in. The Goodman Arts Centre, and Singapore Biennale 2011 Open House: I seem to be coming around here a lot, recently, though never actually stopping to dine. Now I wonder.. when was the last time?

A short distance from Mounbatten MRT station, this wonderful place is home to many stalls & is famous for it's hokkien mee, char kway teow, satay, plus other kinds of local dishes. Hawker food, seems to be a part of Singaporean culture, and to her people, eating is often considered an enjoyable past time, so much so that they would travel far & wide to satiate their tastes.

Old airport road food center is just a hive of activity; While the crowd changes, the same noise and chatter remains. Everywhere, it is loud and full of life: smatterings of dialog and dialect. Elsewhere, at the neighbouring food centres, tables are empty, the atmosphere cold, even as the sun continues to beat.

The food culture of this sunny island is diverse. Unlike how.. say a, burger, can be associated with American cusine, or sushi, to the Japanese, it is difficult to have a dish which would represent the various ethnic groups of this land. But it is this diversity that allows the people here to create dishes which are cross-cultural, mixing styles and creating foods such as fish head curry, laksa and satay bee hoon.

I've been transformed into a tourist; Slinking around, camera in hand, I'm an observer, a stranger to this land. As I pass by these people, I snap photos. Yet, no one pays attention: their gazes stay focused, utensils an extension of their body.

It's at places like hawker centers that Singaporeans from different backgrounds can dissolve and enjoy food together. Food can be seen as an important factor to the unifying the identity of the nation.

Options: decisions. Anticipation: satisfaction. With only stomach for so much, maybe next time would be different.