A Response from Nathan S.

Chapter 1 of Tufte’s book examines the relationship of information is presented relative to what the information really is. One of the most telling examples Tufte gives is how insignificant giant works of art are portrayed in art history books. The Roy Lichtenstein painting in the book has much more importance when we see ‘lil Roy on his step ladder at the very bottom. And how cool was the little flap covering him up? In regards to Tufte’s examination of the severe storm system, I feel that Tufte’s reinterpretation is valid, but a little preachy and unnecessary. It’s not that he didn’t do a good job with it; it’s just that it is something you only need to see once to get. And being that it is part of a video, the stills don’t really do it justice.

I enjoyed chapter 3 because as a kid, I checked out every book on magic tricks our local library had. I would spend hours just looking at the diagrams so I could understand how to do the tricks and oddly enough, I had no intention of ever performing them. I just wanted the information to see how they were done. Tuftes goes farther with this notion by examining how effective the diagrams are in giving the information. The little arrows the show motion, the ghosting of fingers behind objects, and the step by step instructions try to give as much information as they can without being overbearing. I remember seeing magic books with lengthy paragraphs next to each step and I am glad Tufte acknowledges how unnecessary they are. Keep it short and sweet so the budding magicians can run out and perform their tricks; or not.