12. Visualization of inequalities

Preamble: Improvement in software and access to data, combined with evolving principles of graphic depiction, have led to wonderful products. The preparation for this activity reviews principles of graphic depiction, but the focus for the activity lies on the most difficult (and under-depicted) area of data visualization, namely, how different components of any aggregate fare differently. (This idea underlies the Two Islands game in Activity 2 and relates directly to the Touchstone Exercise running through the course.)

Preparation

1. Review a basic account of information visualization, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_visualization
2. Peruse wonderful graphic depictions at here, here, and here.
3. Review accounts of basic principles, such as here, here , and here.
4. Consider visual depictions at aggregate level:
   • https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/five-charts-that-explain-the-year-in-politics (except #4)
5. Consider visual depictions that differences at levels not usually focused on:
   • from red-state, blue-state to red-county, blue-county: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2012/
   • (depiction of county voting over history of USA: >> http://www.americanpast.org/voting/countypopular.html )
   • first plot here, which is derived from https://ourworldindata.org/ , which has many depictions of differences across nations in many areas in addition to health.

Goals

• Expose the restrictiveness that comes with using any quantitative tools (in this case data visualization) and explore alternatives.

Activity

1. Brainstorming of claims made at aggregate level or, at least, without delving into how different components of any aggregate fare differently
   • (e.g., 20 million to 50 million victims of the 1918 flu pandemic; US economy has recovered since the Great Recession; life expectancy is increasing; working class, elderly white voters left behind by globalization (or Europeanization) pushed back against the elites who have benefitted from those processes; rich pay more taxes for what they get back; deaths due to communist governments eclipsed deaths due to military actions of the free world during the Cold War; red state voters favor small government compared to blue state voters versus what they get back from federal government;... (10 m)
2. Choose one such claim and search for data on how different components of the aggregate fare differently (20 m)
3. Sketch a graphic depiction of the inequalities (10 m)
4. Share in pairs, then in class as a whole (10 + 20 m)
5. Plus-delta feedback on activity (5 m)