数据可视化信息可视化

What makes data visualization so fascinating to you? The main reason I enjoy creating visuals from data is that it enables us to see different perspectives on the subject of study. In this article, I will share 2 concepts to improve the insights we can provide through the visualizations we design.

w ^帽子使得数据可视化如此迷人吗？我喜欢从数据创建视觉效果的主要原因是，它使我们能够对研究主题有不同的看法。在本文中，我将分享两个概念，以改进我们可以通过设计的可视化视图提供的见解。

DataViz, a “second” eye
DataViz，“第二眼”
The Island of Knowledge
知识之岛

1 — DataViz，“第二眼” (1 — DataViz, a “second” eye)

Our brain has the ability to use our eyes to see in 3D. It’s called stereoscopic vision. Basically, each eye gives us a 2D vision, and because they are separated on our face, each retina produces a slightly different image. This difference is a result of depth, which provides the 3rd dimension. In other words, having a second eye brings a different perspective, and when both perspectives are put together, we can see in 3D.

我们的大脑有能力用眼睛观看3D图像。这就是所谓的立体视觉。基本上，每只眼睛都会给我们提供2D视觉，并且由于它们在我们的脸上是分开的，因此每个视网膜产生的图像都会略有不同。这种差异是深度的结果，它提供了三维空间。换句话说，拥有第二只眼睛会带来不同的视角，并且当两个视角放在一起时，我们可以在3D模式下看到。

Data visualization is like a second eye, it can give us different perspectives that will produce new understanding and knowledge. The artist Michael Murphy calls it perceptual shift, “a moment that occurs when an individual’s interpretation of a particular stimulus suddenly changes”. The video below shows an example of a perceptual shift from Michael Murphy’s art¹.

数据可视化就像第二只眼睛，它可以为我们提供不同的观点，从而产生新的理解和知识。艺术家迈克尔·墨菲(Michael Murphy)称其为知觉转变，“当个体对特定刺激的解释突然发生变化的那一刻发生”。以下视频显示了迈克尔•墨菲(Michael Murphy)的艺术¹在知觉上发生转变的示例。

Florence Nightingale (1820–1910) is the perfect example of a data visualization designer that changed perspectives, she changed the way we deal with healthcare and saved lives. She was a nurse and statistician. She collected data and created visualizations to better understand topics such as mortality in war and hospitals. She used the plot below to prove how improvement in sanitation could decrease mortality in hospitals and prevent diseases. Learn more about Florence Nightingale and her legacy here.

弗洛伦斯·南丁格尔(Florence Nightingale，1820–1910年)是数据可视化设计师改变视角的完美典范，她改变了我们处理医疗保健和挽救生命的方式。她是一名护士和统计学家。她收集了数据并创建了可视化效果，以更好地理解诸如战争和医院死亡率之类的话题。她使用下面的图来证明改善卫生条件如何降低医院的死亡率并预防疾病。在此处了解有关Florence Nightingale及其遗产的更多信息。

Image for post — Wellcome Collection 惠康收藏

2-知识之岛 (2 — The Island of Knowledge)

The concept of “the island of knowledge” is simple, and it’s stated by Ralph W. Sockman as “The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder”. Our understanding of a subject is like the size of an island, and its shoreline represents how far we can think, ponder and question about it.

“知识之岛”的概念很简单，Ralph W. Sockman称其为“知识之岛越大，奇迹之岸越长”。我们对一个主题的理解就像一个岛屿的大小，其海岸线代表了我们可以思考，思考和质疑的距离。

Marcelo Gleiser wrote a book entitled “The Island of Knowledge. The Limits of Science and the Search for Meaning”, and he gives this definition:

Marcelo Gleiser写了一本书，名为“知识之岛。科学的极限和意义的探索”，他给出了以下定义：

“The knowledge that we have defines the knowledge that we can have. As knowledge shifts, we ask new kinds of questions that we couldn’t have anticipated”².

“我们拥有的知识定义了我们可以拥有的知识。随着知识的转移，我们提出了我们无法预料的新问题。”²

Data visualization is a powerful way to increase our island of knowledge. It can give us those different perspectives that will increase the size of our island and consequently enlarge the shoreline of wonder. It will enable us to think of questions we couldn’t before. Alberto Cairo uses the island of knowledge to teach about data visualization in his book “the truthful art”³ in a very insightful way. I recommend reading it.

数据可视化是增加我们知识的强大途径。它可以为我们提供不同的观点，这些观点将增加我们的岛屿的面积，从而扩大奇观的海岸线。这将使我们能够思考以前无法解决的问题。阿尔贝托·开罗(Alberto Cairo)利用知识之岛，以非常有见地的方式在他的著作《真实的艺术》³中讲授了数据可视化。我建议阅读。

At the beginning of 2019, I worked on a visualization that represents this concept. I was looking into the stocks of Petrobras (PBR, a Brazilian company) to decide if it was a good moment to buy it. I was staring at the following chart:

在2019年初，我进行了代表该概念的可视化工作。我正在研究巴西国家石油公司(Petrobras，巴西的PBR)的股票，以决定是否是购买该股票的好时机。我盯着下面的图表：

My eyes went straight to the period of 2013–2016. I wondered what happened there to make those shares fall so drastically. I then realized that within those years, a huge operation was in progress in Brazil to investigate corruption between the government and Petrobras. I studied more about that and put together some important events in the government and in the operation against corruption to find any correlation with PBR stocks. The image below is the result of my research (click here for the full page):

我直视2013-2016年。我想知道发生了什么事情，使这些股票大幅下跌。然后我意识到，在那些年里，巴西正在进行一项大规模的调查政府与巴西国家石油公司之间腐败行为的行动。我对此进行了更多研究，并将政府和反腐败行动中的一些重要事件汇总在一起，以发现与PBR股票的相关性。下图是我的研究结果(单击此处查看整页)：

Since Dilma Rousseff was elected the president of Brazil in 2012 and changed the leadership of Petrobras, the stocks started falling and hitting the lowest prices in the past 13 years. The red area shows the period where nearly 30 people were arrested being accused of corruption, and it’s followed by the lowest price level. The first plot made me ask new questions, enlarge my island of knowledge, and find new perspectives. Now my shoreline of wonder is larger and the island can grow bigger. How corruption in government have affected other companies or other parts of the economy? Can I use the government’s corruption to predict stock prices?

自2012年当选迪尔玛·罗塞夫(Dilma Rousseff)担任巴西总统并更改巴西国家石油公司(Petrobras)的领导以来，这些股票开始下跌并触及过去13年以来的最低价。红色区域显示的时期是将近30人被指控犯有腐败罪而被捕，其次是最低价格。第一个情节使我提出了新的问题，扩大了我的知识范围，并找到了新的观点。现在，我的奇观海岸线更大，岛屿可以变得更大。政府腐败如何影响其他公司或经济的其他部分？我可以利用政府的腐败来预测股价吗？

Data visualization is powerful, it can change, improve and save the world. It’s key to bringing new perspectives and innovation. Next time that you go to work on your data collection or visualization designs, remember the island of knowledge and make it so that your readers will wonder about new questions they never had before.

数据可视化功能强大，可以改变，改善和拯救世界。这是带来新观点和创新的关键。下次您进行数据收集或可视化设计时，请记住知识之岛并加以利用，以便您的读者对以前从未有过的新问题有所疑问。

Data visualization is powerful, it can change, improve and save the world. It’s key to bringing innovation. As you create and design your next visualizations, do your data exploration with these concepts in mind. It will lead you to provide new faces of the data and knowledge for your readers. You will enable them to ask deeper questions. Let them wonder!

数据可视化功能强大，可以改变，改善和拯救世界。这是带来创新的关键。在创建和设计下一个可视化文件时，请牢记这些概念来进行数据探索。它将引导您为读者提供数据和知识的新面Kong。您将使他们能够提出更深层次的问题。 让他们纳闷！