Semester:
Offered:
This course focuses on the insight into quantitative information offered by graphs, tables, charts, maps, and other illustrations. We analyze which of these tools are best for communicating what kinds of data, and why. Ideas about causality, approximation, statistical significance, credibility, and dimensionality will be addressed by analyzing real data and their display. The data will be drawn from medical, astronomical, social-science, aerospace, financial, and geographic examples. Approximately one-third of the course will focus on web, interactive, and live presentations of data. Much of the course's philosophy is based on the work of Edward Tufte.
Note: This course, when taken for a letter grade, meets the Core area requirement for Quantitative Reasoning.