Saturday, October 24, 2015

The Beauty of Data Visualization

Data visualization may be the solution to information overload. As humans, we have unique capabilities; we can see patterns and determine connections. But we can only do this if data is presented in a way where we can actually “see” it.

Not all can discover patterns in numbers. We are not all math whizzes. This is why we pay them the big bucks. Not all can discover patterns even in words. I suppose that is why they say repetition is key for presentations- no one will remember it, unless you say it seven times.  But for all the rest of us, data visualization can help us “see” the patterns we would otherwise not.

In many cases, information overload results in there being too much information for us to really draw conclusions. It is easy to analyze a spreadsheet with 10 columns…but not so much if there are 150,000 columns. If this data is represented visually though, we can more easily discover patterns within it.

By using data visualization we gain clarity, and get our answers answered quickly, and relatively easily.

Plus, it is usually pretty cool to look at! And that is why data visualization is a beautiful thing!

Want to learn more about working with data visualization? Want to learn about being a data scientist? Thinking of becoming a data scientist? See how valuable data scientists are Here.

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We can easily see that people eat a lot of chicken. While we could scan a spreadsheet of this data, when it is presented visually, we get a clear understanding, quickly. Plus, it is more fun to look at this visual than a spreadsheet, right?

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Not only does visually data help us draw conclusions more quickly, it also allows us to understand the data better. Seeing is believing. Here we can see how much carbon dioxide New York is emitting. This visual represents carbon dioxide emissions as one-ton spheres.

Watch the video to see why other thought leaders think data visualization is a beautiful thing.

You can watch more videos about data visualization, data management and Big Data on our video site, Big Data Minute.

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