Long before we humans started to write, we’d mastered the art of drawing pictures. And it kind of worked for us. This is quite evident when we think about the way we… think.

We tend to associate and analyze information much more efficiently when it is presented in the form of visualizations. After all, they say that a picture is worth a 1000 words.

Check out: The Value of a Good Visual: Immediacy

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Glossary

• ubiquitous – existing or being everywhere
• lend itself (to sth) – to possess the right characteristics or qualities for
• spatial – of or pertaining to space.
• convey – communicate
• on the fly – as you go
• drill down report – moving from summary information to detailed data by focusing in on something
• underestimate – to estimate at too low a value, rate, or the like.

Think about it

Based on the text answer the following questions. Leave your answers in the comments below!

• In what ways are traditional graphs ineffective when it comes to presenting new kinds of data?
• What’s the advantage of a map over data sets presented in tables for example.
• Explain the saying “a picture is worth a 1000 words” in relation to data visualizations.
• What new functions do new visualization tools offer compared to more traditional ones?
• What could be some immediate benefits for businesses of using such tools?

Practice makes perfect

In the sentences below replace the phrases in bold with the expressions from the original text. Leave your answers in the comments below!

• Grids and columns of data, while present everywhere, make it very difficult to see trends or patterns.
• I’d like to guide you through an exercise to show how effective visualizations allow you to immediately understand a complex set of relationships.
• You might not immediately understand the importance of the above example because it seems self-explanatory that maps are important.
• It could be that you are trying hard to communicate information unaware that there is a visual that can have the same type of impact as a map. 
• While many business intelligence tools have enabled drill down reports for years, they typically include only standard visuals and also typically limit users to preset paths.

Fill in the blanks with the correct forms of the words in capital letters.

This is the key to the value ______ PROPOSE of data______ VISUAL. It could be that you are struggling to convey information without being aware that there is a visual that can have the same type of impact as a map. Or there may be ______ CONNECT among all that data that you’d never make without a visualization. Until you see the ______ VISION for the first time, however, you won’t appreciate the value it offers. 

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