perception

Patterns of Knowledge

Data visualization is about finding and communicating patterns. But here is an often-forgotten truism: patterns are not some kind of ready-to-wear knowledge. You can look at a chart and have an epiphany and the person next to you can dismiss it as useless. Let’s see why. Is this person a friend of yours? If you … Read more

Memorable Charts? Forget About It!

This too much discussed paper “found that people’s accuracy in describing the embellished charts was no worse than for plain charts, and that their recall after a two-to-three week gap was significantly better. In addition, participants preferred the embellished charts“. OK, let’s take a deep breath. Apparently, all things being equal, you should use a … Read more

Fibonacci, working memory and information overload

More data = better decisions, right? Not always. When you are getting more information than you can process within a specific time period information overload starts creeping. Confusion, stress, anxiety and low motivation usually follow. Can we prevent that? In general, the more information you have, the more accurate your decisions will be. But at … Read more