Tufte Is Deep

I finally picked up the book today and I must say WOW, I am blown away. Chapters one and two clearly illustrate the scrutiny and examination of two-dimensional displays. Throughout learning especially, I have come across many a drawings for educational and quantitive purposes. I have been subjected to good and bad illustrations. I remember being frustrated with the bad, as it was usually bad due to lack of labeling or was confusing in general.

Some points to be mentioned from chapter one include photographed art and its scaling, as well as misrepresentation in illustrations. I thought it was interesting that Tufte brought up the topic of art being photographed and later the scaling and how it affects the original art. This is commonly discussed in Art History classes, as the photos can be deceiving. The whole meaning behind a piece can be altered or even lost due to incorrect or misleading scale. I also took note of Tufte's comments on the misrepresentation of images. I agree with the author and believe it is important to not only show designs/redesigns but also to show the original source along side it, as a bibliography of sorts. I think this is key because it lets the viewer decide if the design suits the source and information.

In chapter two, I saw how difficult it could be to display three-dimensional acts on paper. Again, I was amazed at how closely the illustrations were examined. I feel that the topic and information was interesting, but the amount of text was cumbersome. Mainly, what I gathered was that just as in magic there are tricks to illustrating.

Again, the book blows me away and I enjoy flipping through. I was very amused by the flaps and old feel to it.