Please answer the following questions to show that you have read and understand
ID: 1710829 • Letter: P
Question
Please answer the following questions to show that you have read and understand Tufte's main points:
From first half of booklett:
1. Tufte's general argument is:
2. On Snow's map of London, the yellow squares represent what and what did Snow discover about them?
3. According to Tufte, "The deep fundamental question in statistical anaylysis is ______________ _________ ___________? 3 Words.
4. What should you do when you aggregate data to ensure that the aggregate isn't visually misleading?
5. In the second half of the booklett, Tufte discusses three case studies(think beginning, middle, end), please identify them and list 2-3 points he made with each.
Some things to remember about Tufte readings:
1. His brilliance is that it all seems so obvious, but as he clearly shows in the Challenger example, some very smart engineers got it very wrong: not because they didn’t know what was going on, but rather, they didn’t know how to show/convey their knowledge.
2. Place info in a manner to show cause and effect seems commonsensical, but clearly it is not.
3. The most important point is the “Compared to What?” Too often students want to argue for the benefits of a certain technology (ie., in their final paper), without discussing alternate
solutions and showing why theirs is better.
4. Make sure in your thoughts and papers you consider alternative explanations. This point goes
with #3. If you are going to argue for hydrogen fuel cells for autos; you need to discuss why it is better than the more common alternative to gas powered vehicles: electric cars. Comparing it just to gas powered autos is ultimately a straw man, because the comparison is between other alternatives. Same goes with wind power: it cannot just be compared to coal or natural gas fired power plants, but it also has to be compared to other alternatives on the same scale—solar farms or solar collectors, etc.
5. How does this apply to your paper? If you are using tables for comparisons, make sure you are comparing apples to apples.
Regarding PowerPoint
The main points are to use PP primarily for visuals—images and videos. If you put a lot of text on your slide, they will read it faster than you can say it and stop listening to you. NEVER read the text on your slide to your audience! If you do, you are telling your audience that they cannot read.
Consider handouts when giving a presentation. Remember to design your visuals according to what your audience is used to viewing. You could walk an audience through Graunt’s table if you had to.
Remember, Tufte is usually talking about serious technical presentations where decisions have to be made. As always, your slides and presentations have to answer the “Compared to What?” if applicable.
Explanation / Answer
1. His general argument is that "Compared to what". Whenever we compare to things, they should belong to same category.
2. yeloow squares represent the go slow cautions.
3. think beginning, middle, end
4. You should not right too much words and you need to explain the whole aggregate data with gestuers.