Graphs
December 12th, 2011 § Leave a Comment
A questionable graphic I noticed in my dad’s important-sounding and official-looking magazine:
I already drew on it a little bit (sorry) before realizing this might be an interesting thing to comment on.
Here’s why it’s important to:
- Understand your source of information (and its biases)
- Understand how graphs work (and can be abused)
The aim of this pair of graphs (and the article) is to show that a particular politician’s economic plan is not working—a point that seems illustrated if you cast a passing glance at these two charts.
But look closely.
The Y-axis (vertical) of the red graph on the right doesn’t start at $0, it starts at $330. If it started at zero, your graph might look more like the pen line I doodled on top.
The Y-axis of the blue graph does start at zero. If it didn’t (to match the original red graph), the blue chart might look more like its respective doodled line.
Corporate profits went up by nearly $1 Trillion, and median weekly earnings went down by roughly $15. Median earnings going down is still not a positive, but clearly, the information presented here has been warped to show a significantly more tragic reality.
Note: I’m no politician, I’m not taking sides, etc., etc. If you’re concerned about the political nature of this content, then you’ve missed the point entirely. Which is, again: Graphs and information can be manipulated. Exercise caution.
