Thou shalt not present thy data as circles.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

I have been driven sufficiently livid with rage by people doing this that I am going to rant about it on DU.

If you depict data as circles, it is not clear whether the quantity is proportional to the area or the radius; either way it is harder to judge the ration of two quantities.

One dimensional data - that is, numbers - should always be depicted one-dimensionally: by bars, lines, numbers of drawings of little people, or what have you.

Circles may be pretty, but the purpose of a graph is to communicate information, and circles fail at that.

This is bad and wrong! http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/interactive/2011/oct/26/public-spending-uk-government-department

Here endeth the rant.

[mike_c]

1. what about pie?

[MADem]

3. MMMmmmmmmmm....pie. Is there whipped cream? nt

[Donald Ian Rankin]

4. Nothing wrong with a pie chart.

If what you're interested in is proportions of a whole rather than absolute values a pie chart is a good way of depicting that.

An angle is a one-dimensional quantity like a line, and hence good and wholesome and righteous. if not abused.

[mike_c]

6. here's an excellent site that you'll enjoy....

http://rhizome.org/editorial/tags/funny/?page=5

Scroll down and look at all the funny data representations.

[Blue_Tires]

7. another good one:

http://graphjam.memebase.com/

[Doc_Technical]

8. This is what I've been saying all along.

Pi r not squared,
pi r round!

[MADem]

2. Circles are the Flavor of the Month.

People like the colors, and they must find it easy to compare that golf ball to the tennis ball, or the ping pong ball.

It's all eye-candy--that's why they do it. Your eye is drawn to the different. No one would look at that if it was a bar chart.

I blame "The Cloud" myself. A lot of pesky and irritating graphics w/that concept.

[Sheepshank]

5. I know a lot of people

that love running around in them....circles that is.

[Doc_Technical]

9. Did someone say, "Running around in circles"?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLy97BHTrEI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPiPI6RmelQ&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AP6SqbyFnc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3ApajzS0_k&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hObrB39yDRI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNau0OEcxvY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe6KiulXdkg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNCkBH4SRc8&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEvGAA4KzSE&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB_0Uf72vt0&feature=related