The simple genius of a good graphic（一）简单天才般的好图表（一）I love infographics. As an information designer, I've worked with all sorts of data over the past 25 years. I have a few insights to share, but first: a little history. infographic： n. 信息图表 insight['ɪnsaɪt]：n. 洞察力；见识；深刻的理解 我爱信息图表。作为一个信息设计师，在过去25年中，我跟各种各样的数据打交道。我有一些见解要分享，但首先讲点历史。 Communication is the encoding, transmission and decoding of information. Breakthroughs in communication mark turning points in human culture. Oracy, literacy and numeracy were great developments in communication. They allow us to encode ideas into words and quantities in numbers. Without communication, we'd still be stuck in the Stone Ages. decode[ˌdiː'koʊd]：v. 解码；译解；译码 Breakthrough['breɪkθruː]：n. 突破，突破性进展；关键问题的解决 Oracy['ɔːrəsi]：n. 口语能力 literacy['lɪtərəsi]：n. 识字；读写能力；文化，教养 numeracy['nuːmərəsi]：n. 识数；计算能力 沟通是对信息的编码、传输和解码。沟通的突破标志着人类文化的转折点。在沟通方面，语言，文字和算术能力得到了很大的发展。它们让我们可以把想法编码为文字并量化成数字。 没有沟通能力，我们就会被困在石器时代。 Although humans have been around for a quarter million years, it was only 8000 years ago that proto-writings began to surface. Nearly 3000 years later, the fist proper writing systems took shape. 尽管人类已经存在25万年，但人类最早期的书写浮出水面只有8千年。在将近3000年后，首个合适的书写系统成形。 Maps have been around for millennia and diagrams for hundreds of years, but representing quantities through graphics is a relatively new development. It wasn't until 1786 that William Playfair invented the first bar chart, giving birth to visual display of quantitative information. Fifteen years later, he introduced the first pie and area charts. His inventions are still the most commonly used chart forms today. Florence Nightingale invented the coxcomb in 1857 for a presentation to Queen Victoria on troop mortality. Highlighted in blue, she showed how most troops' deaths could have been prevented. Shortly after, Charles Minard charted Napoleon's march on Moscow, illustrating how an army of 422000 dwindled to just 10000 as battles, geography and freezing temperatures took their toll. He combined a Sankey diagram with cartography and a line chart for temperature. coxcomb['kɒksˌkoʊm]：n. 自命不凡的蠢家伙（尤指过分注意衣着者） troop[truːp]：n. 群；组；军队；大量；vi. 群集；结队；成群前行 mortality[mɔːr'tæləti]：n. 死亡率；死亡数目；必死性 dwindle['dwɪndl]：v. 减少；缩小 toll[toʊl]：n. 伤亡人数；钟声；通行费；代价；v. 敲钟 地图存在几千年，图表则有数百年之久，但通过图形来表示数量还是一个相对较新的发展。 直至1786年威廉·普莱费尔发明的首个条形图，才催生了数量信息的视觉显示。15年后，他引入了首个饼图和面积图。他这些发明仍是今天最常使用的图表类型。1857年弗洛伦斯·南丁格尔发明了锯齿图来向维多利亚女王介绍部队死亡率。蓝色强调部分，她展示了军队的大多数死亡可以如何被避免。不久之后，查尔斯·米纳德绘制了拿破仑进军俄罗斯的图表，展示了一支42.2万人的军队是如何在战斗，地理和冰冻的影响下付出惨痛代价减少到只有1万人的。他将桑基图与制图学和温度线图表结合在一起。 I get excited when I get lots of data to play with, especially when it yield an interesting chart form. Here, Nightingale's coxcomb was the inspiration to organize data on thousands of federal energy subsidies, scrutinizing the lack of investment in renewable over fossil fuels. This Sankey diagram illustrates the flow of energy through the US economy, emphasizing how nearly half of the energy used is lost as waste heat. yield[jiːld]：v. 生产；获利；屈服；弯下去；n. 投资收益；生产量 inspiration[ˌɪnspə'reɪʃn]：n. 灵感；鼓舞人心(的东西)；吸气 scrutinize['skruːtənaɪz]：v. 仔细检查；细看 renewable[rɪ'nuːəbl]：adj. 可更新的；可再生的 fossil['fɑːsl]：n. 化石；食古不化的人；守旧的事物 emphasize['emfəsaɪz]：vt. 强调；着重；使突出 有很多数据可以摆弄总令我兴奋，特别是当它产生一个有趣的图表形式时。这里，奈廷格尔的锯齿图是成千联邦政府能源补贴数据组织的最佳呈现，审查了可再生能源投入相较化石能源的不足。这个桑基图展示了美国经济中的能源流动，强调了近一半的能源消耗是作为废热流失的。 I love it when data can be sculpted into beautiful shapes. Here, the personal and professional connections of women for Silicon Valley can be woven into arcs, same as the collaboration of inventors birthing patents across the globe can be mapped. sculpted[skʌlpt]：v. 雕刻；n. 雕刻；雕塑；雕刻品；雕塑品 woven['woʊvn]：adj. 编织的；动词weave的过去分词. collaboration[kəˌlæbə'reɪʃn]：n. 合作；通敌 我喜欢把数据雕刻成漂亮的形状。这里，硅谷女性的个人和职业联系可以被编织成弧线，就跟全球范围内发明家的协作可以映射出来一样。 |
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