The simple genius of a good graphic | Tommy McCall

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: SF Huang

I love infographics.

我愛資訊圖表。

As an information designer,

身為資訊設計師，

I've worked with all sorts of data over the past 25 years.

在這 25 年間， 我已經處理過各式各樣的資料。

I have a few insights to share, but first: a little history.

我有幾項洞見想要分享， 但首先，先說一點歷史。

Communication is the encoding, transmission and decoding of information.

溝通，就是將資訊 編碼、傳輸和解碼的過程。

Breakthroughs in communication mark turning points in human culture.

溝通上的突破 是人類文化上的轉捩點。

Oracy, literacy and numeracy were great developments in communication.

語言的表達理解力、讀寫能力， 及計算能力，是溝通的重大發展。

They allow us to encode ideas into words

它們讓我們可以把想法轉換成文字，

and quantities into numbers.

把數量轉化成數字。

Without communication, we'd still be stuck in the Stone Ages.

沒有溝通，我們就 脫離不了石器時代。

Although humans have been around for a quarter million years,

雖然人類已經存在了 25 萬年，

it was only 8,000 years ago that proto-writings began to surface.

一直到 8,000 年前， 類文字才開始出現。

Nearly 3,000 years later, the first proper writing systems took shape.

幾近 3,000 年後，最早的 正規書寫系統才儼然成形。

Maps have been around for millennia and diagrams for hundreds of years,

地圖已存在數千年之久， 而圖表則有數百年，

but representing quantities through graphics

但用圖表來表現數量

is a relatively new development.

是相當新的發展。

It wasn't until 1786 that William Playfair invented the first bar chart,

要到 1786 年，威廉．普萊菲 發明了第一個長條圖，

giving birth to visual display of quantitative information.

量化資訊的視覺化呈現才由此誕生。

Fifteen years later, he introduced the first pie and area charts.

15 年之後，他提出了 最早的圓餅圖和面積圖。

His inventions are still the most commonly used chart forms today.

他所發明的圖表至今仍廣為大眾使用。

Florence Nightingale invented the coxcomb in 1857

1857 年，佛蘿倫絲 ． 南丁格爾發明了極區圖，

for a presentation to Queen Victoria on troop mortality.

目的是為了把軍隊的死亡數 呈現給維多利亞女王看。

Highlighted in blue,

她用藍色來凸顯

she showed how most troops' deaths could have been prevented.

大部分軍隊的死亡是可以避免的。

Shortly after, Charles Minard charted Napoleon's march on Moscow,

過不久，查爾斯．米納德 繪製了拿破崙到莫斯科的行軍圖，

illustrating how an army of 422,000 dwindled to just 10,000

說明 422,000 名士兵的軍隊 銳減到剩下 10,000 名，

as battles, geography and freezing temperatures took their toll.

是因為戰爭、地理環境 和極低溫造成了他們的傷亡。

He combined a Sankey diagram with cartography

他把桑基圖和地圖學結合，

and a line chart for temperature.

再搭配上溫度的折線圖。

I get excited when I get lots of data to play with,

當我有很多資料可以運用時， 我會很興奮，

especially when it yields an interesting chart form.

特別是當資料能產生出 很有趣的圖表形式時。

Here, Nightingale's coxcomb was the inspiration

這張圖的靈感是來自 南丁格爾的極區圖，

to organize data on thousands of federal energy subsidies,

圖中整合了數千項 聯邦能源補助的資料，

scrutinizing the lack of investment in renewables over fossil fuels.

從細節可以看出，可再生能源的 投資比不上化石燃料。

This Sankey diagram illustrates the flow of energy through the US economy,

這張桑基圖畫的是 美國經濟的能源流，

emphasizing how nearly half of the energy used is lost as waste heat.

強調近一半使用能源的流失， 其實都變成了廢熱。

I love it when data can be sculpted into beautiful shapes.

我很愛看見資料 被形塑成漂亮的形狀。

Here, the personal and professional connections of the women of Silicon Valley

這張圖是矽谷女性的 個人和專業連結，

can be woven into arcs,

這些連結能被編織成弧線，

same as the collaboration of inventors birthing patents across the globe

同樣的道理，全球 發明家合作產出的專利

can be mapped.

也能繪製在地圖上。

I've even made charts for me.

我甚至為自己製作了張圖表。

I'm a numbers person, so I rarely win at Scrabble.

我是個數字人， 所以玩拼字遊戲很少贏。

I made this diagram to remember all the two- and three-letter words

我製作了這張圖， 來記住官方拼字遊戲字典中

in the official Scrabble dictionary.

所有 2、3 個字母拼成的字。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Knowing these 1,168 words certainly is a game changer.

知道這 1,168 個字， 肯定能改變遊戲的局面。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Sometimes I produce code to quickly generate graphics

有時如有數千個資料點，

我會透過寫程式碼來快速產出圖表。

from thousands of data points.

Coding also enables me to produce interactive graphics.

寫程式碼也能夠讓我 製作出互動式的圖表。

Now we can navigate information on our own terms.

現在我們就可以 依自己的意願來瀏覽資訊。

Exotic chart forms certainly look cool,

奇特的圖表形式看起來真的很酷，

but something as simple as a little dot may be all you need

但有時解決特定的思維任務，

可能只需要很簡單的小圓點。

to solve a particular thinking task.

In 2006, the "New York Times" redesigned their "Markets" section,

2006 年，《紐約時報》 重新設計了他們的「市場」版，

cutting it down from eight pages of stock listings

把原本 8 頁的股票列表

to just one and a half pages of essential market data.

縮減到只剩一頁半的重要市場資訊。

We listed performance metrics for the most common stocks,

我們針對最常見的股票 列出績效表，

but I wanted to help investors see how the stocks are doing.

但我想要協助投資者 觀察股票的表現。

So I added a simple little dot

所以我加上了一個簡單的小圓點，

to show the current price relative to its one-year range.

來呈現目前個股市價 在其一年股價範圍的落點為何。

At a glance, value investors can pick out stocks trading near their lows

價值投資者只要快速一瞥， 找出落在左邊的圓點，

就能挑出股價接近低點的股票。

by looking for dots to the left.

Momentum investors can find stocks on an upward trajectory

動能投資者能透過落在右邊的圓點，

找到股價呈現上升趨勢的股票。

via dots to the right.

Shortly after, the "Wall Street Journal" copied the design.

沒多久，《華爾街日報》 就複製了這種設計。

Simplicity is often the goal for most graphics,

大部分圖表的訴求是簡潔，

but sometimes we need to embrace complexity

但有時，我們會需要擁抱複雜，

and show large data sets in their full glory.

把大型資料集充份呈現出來。

Alec Gallup, the former chairman of the Gallup Organization,

亞歷克．蓋洛普是 蓋洛普的前任董事長，

once handed me a very thick book.

他有一次給我一本非常厚的書。

It was his family's legacy:

那是他的家庭遺產：

hundreds of pages covering six decades of presidential approval data.

幾百頁的資料收集了 60 年來對總統的滿意度。

I told him the entire book could be graphed on a single page.

我告訴他，這整本書的內容 可以用一頁的圖來呈現。

"Impossible," he said.

他說：「不可能。」

And here it is:

就是這張圖：

25,000 data points on a single page.

25,000 個資料點， 在一頁中完整呈現。

At a glance, one sees that most presidents start with a high approval rating,

只要看一眼，就能看出大部分 總統一開始的批准率都很高，

but few keep it.

但很少人能維持高批准率。

Events like wars initially boost approval;

像是戰爭這類的事件， 一開始會讓滿意度大增；

scandals trigger declines.

醜聞會讓它下滑。

These major events were annotated in the graphic but not in the book.

這些重大事件被註記在圖上， 但書中卻沒有。

The point is, graphics can transmit data with incredible efficiency.

重點是，圖表能以驚人的 效率來傳達資料。

Graphicacy --

圖形能力——

the ability to read and write graphics --

讀圖和作圖的能力——

is still in its infancy.

還在嬰兒期的階段。

New chart forms will emerge and specialized dialects will evolve.

新的圖表形式會出現， 所屬的專業用語也會蔚然成形。

Graphics that help us think faster

圖表能讓我們更快速地思考，

or see a book's worth of information on a single page

或僅用一張頁面就能看出 一整本書的資訊價值，

are the key to unlocking new discoveries.

這類圖表是開啟新發現的關鍵。

Our visual cortex was built to decode complex information

我們視覺皮質的功能 是把複雜的資訊解碼，

and is a master at pattern recognition.

它是圖形辨識大師。

Graphicacy enables us to harness our built-in GPU

圖形能力讓我們能利用 我們內建的圖形處理器

to process mountains of data

來處理堆積如山的資料，

and find the veins of gold hiding within.

並找出藏在其中的金礦礦脈。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause and cheers)

（掌聲與歡呼）