Reading 3: Micro/Macro Readings

Did anyone else laugh when Tafte wrote about how "easily" it was to display the info of graph on page 39? Whut? Honestly, when I see graphs like that I overlook it and skip to the next page of reading. I don't know anything about "electrical resistivity of copper...", but there has to be a better way of representing the data than this solution.

However, I guess I understand (somewhat) what this chapter is trying to get into. Something along the lines of having a lot of detail in something, and creating a bigger picture out of it. You can see the details stacked with details in micro/macro pieces of work.

I thought the section on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was interesting. I like the conclusion of arranging the names by the date of death. If it was arranged alphabetically, then yes, it might be easier to find the name of a lost loved one but the memorial itself would look like a phone book as critiqued. A repetition of "James Jones" 16 times in a row would not look aesthetically correct.