Date:         Thu, 10 Feb 2005 11:40:03 -0800
Reply-To:     Jack Hamilton <jfh@STANFORDALUMNI.ORG>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         Jack Hamilton <jfh@STANFORDALUMNI.ORG>
Subject:      Re: Edward Tufte
Comments: To: "Choate, Paul@DDS" <pchoate@DDS.CA.GOV>
In-Reply-To:  <83F5497995A8D511965F00508BB9297004C1E288@ddsexmb01.cahwnet .gov>
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At 09:01 am 2/10/2005 -0800, Choate, Paul@DDS wrote:

>Kevin - IMHO -
>
>While interesting, I didn't find much information for practical application.
>I found most of his presentation devoid of much true insight other than he
>doesn't like Microsoft Office applications, especially PowerPoint. In
>Tufte's world we would all be graphics artists with abundant time and
>resources to create unique, artful and inspiring presentations.

Paul and I have a disagreement here, as we do about the proper place of
Excel in data manipulation and presentation.

I would say that Tufte's basic point is that you don't need to be, and
shouldn't be, fancy.  You should use the minimum amount of ink needed to
convey the information you want to convey.  In practical terms, you'll end
up doing less work by following Tufte's guidelines, not more.  Sometimes an
enormous amount of effort is expended adding what Tufte calls "chart junk",
elements of graphs and charts that look fancy but actually add information.

When I took the class, he didn't spend much time on MS Office (maybe none
at all), so perhaps the emphasis of the course has changed over the years.

The class changed the way I think about data presentation, and I highly
recommend it.



>He makes good points on the importance of clarity and depth in information
>presentation.  I own his three books and a very humorous paper on PowerPoint
>and occasionally leaf through them.  They are good coffee table books.
>
>hth
>
>Paul Choate
>DDS Data Extraction
>(916) 654-2160
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: SAS(r) Discussion [mailto:SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Kevin
>Roland Viel
>Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2005 2:28 PM
>To: SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>Subject: OT: Edward Tufte
>
>I am considering taking the one-day course offered by Edward Tufte.  Has
>anyone taken the course on the visual display of data or another of his
>courses?  Is it a good investment?
>
>http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/courses
>
>Thanks,
>
>Kevin
>
>
>Kevin Viel
>Department of Epidemiology
>Rollins School of Public Health
>Emory University
>Atlanta, GA 30322
>
>
>
>
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-----
Jack Hamilton
jfh@alumni.stanford.org
Sacramento, California