Picturing the Uncertain World: How to Understand, Communicate, and Control Uncertainty through Graphical Display

by Howard Wainer

In his entertaining and informative book Graphic Discovery , Howard Wainer unlocked the power of graphical display to make complex problems clear. Now he's back with Picturing the Uncertain World , a book that explores how graphs can serve as maps to guide us when the information we have is ambiguous or incomplete. Using a visually diverse sampling of graphical display, from heartrending autobiographical displays of genocide in the Kovno ghetto to the "Pie Chart of Mystery" in a New Yorker cartoon, Wainer illustrates the many ways graphs can be used--and misused--as we try to make sense of an uncertain world.

Picturing the Uncertain World takes readers on an extraordinary graphical adventure, revealing how the visual communication of data offers answers to vexing questions yet also highlights the measure of uncertainty in almost everything we do. Are cancer rates higher or lower in rural communities? How can you know how much money to sock away for retirement when you don't know when you'll die? And where exactly did nineteenth-century novelists get their ideas? These are some of the fascinating questions Wainer invites readers to consider. Along the way he traces the origins and development of graphical display, from William Playfair, who pioneered the use of graphs in the eighteenth century, to instances today where the public has been misled through poorly designed graphs.

We live in a world full of uncertainty, yet it is within our grasp to take its measure. Read Picturing the Uncertain World and learn how.

Genres: Business, Science, Mathematics, Nonfiction, Design

264 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2009

Reviews

[Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite an interesting comparison, off old graphics presentation styles, with the new, with a biase towards the former; the production, effort required for modern diagrams, is of course a lot lower. So perhaps on some level, this needs to be taken into context.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written and filled with great examples of data display styles. Historically entertaining as well. Should be mandatory reading for any scientist, esp. those who wish to publish.

[Dav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early on I expected to give this 3 stars but it seemed unfair to not give it 4. Wainer writes well, is witty, is unafraid to throw in some formulas and seems to go just the right distance in both breadth and depth to create a popular book about statistical displays. It covers theory, history and plenty of applications of the tools found in the Science of Uncertainty. I think for most people that want to brush up a bit on statistics, this would be an excellent book with which to start. The focus is on exploration of data via graphics (charts, etc) and examines the benefits and pitfalls of the visualization approaches.

I think the most amazing thing I'll remember from this book though is that the Charles Minard's chart of Napolean's winter attack on Russia (made famous in tech circles by Tufte) was created when the man was near the end of his life, at age 88. He had been doing similar charts for decades, but he put everything he learned into that one and created what is widely known as The Greatest Chart of All Time, his masterpiece, at the end of his career.

[Shinynickel]

Off this review:

Picturing the Uncertain World: How to Understand, Communicate, and Control Uncertainty through Graphical Display
By Harold Wainer (Princeton University Press)
How can you calculate how much you’ll need for retirement when so many factors are unknown? With hemorrhaging 401(k)s all around and financial models looking dubious, it’s a question on everyone’s lips. A veteran statistician takes on that question and others in this handy manual on visualizing uncertainty. Using graphical models, Wainer dissects a number of case studies that have tripped up everyone from the New York Times to the College Board, gives tips on spotting accurate representations of errors and false trends, and assessing just how difficult, statistically speaking, a task is.

[Liz Wager · Rating 2 out of 5]

some good examples but I was a bit underwhelmed by this (was hoping for a second Tufte)

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://pro-libertate.net/20090806/84-...