Visibly Shaken

Visualising UK election scenarios

Peter Griffin • May 07, 2010

• election,
• statistics,
• voters

New Scientist last week foreshadowed today’s UK election with a look at what the scenarios are in a plurality system of government. The piece also explains the concept of the Banzhof power index which is particularly relevant to the UK election as according to polls 1/3 of voters of UK voters are going into this election undecided on who they … Read More

The Mexican Gulf oil spill in infographics

Peter Griffin • May 04, 2010

• Horizon Deepwater,
• Mexican Gulf,
• oil spill

The disastrous oil spill in the Mexican Gulf represents a complex story with lots of different angles. Newspapers have taken a stab at tackling these angles, which include the ecological impact on sea and coastal ecosystems and the work underway to try and stem the flow of oil. Graphic design departments have been working overtime to come up with eye-catching … Read More

America’s plan to nuke the east

Peter Griffin • Apr 24, 2010

• nuclear missile,
• nuclear warhead

US President Barack Obama may have signed a milestone agreement a couple of weeks ago with Russia to reduce nuclear warhead stocks in both countries. But when it comes to nuclear power stations, production looks set to gear up in the US as states attempt to secure future electricity supply. And as this graphic from USA … Read More

Kiwis’ killer heart attack record

Peter Griffin • Apr 22, 2010

• Heart Attacks,
• OECD,
• The Press

The Press carried some sobering statistics this morning about how we are leaders among comparable countries in the developed world when it comes to dying from heart attacks. As The Press health reporter Rebecca Todd explains: Sixty-three New Zealanders per 100,000 die of heart attacks every year, the report on developed nations shows. The next highest is … Read More

Grounded – mapping the impact of the ash cloud

Peter Griffin • Apr 18, 2010

• aircraft jet engine,
• ash,
• eruption,
• volcano

Not surprisingly, newspapers around the world have given extensive coverage to the volcanic ash clouds over Europe as airports remain closed, travellers stranded. Here are a couple of infographics from the region, that try to make sense of the story. They are variations on the same theme. Which does a better job? The top one is … Read More

Ash fall-out through the ages

Peter Griffin • Apr 17, 2010

• Krakatoa,
• New Scientist,
• Toba,
• Volcanoes

New Scientist’s rather timely cover story this week looks at the eruption of supervolcano Toba, 74,000 years ago and the impact and scale of ash fall-out from it. As New Scientist explains: Toba is a supervolcano on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It has blown its top many times but this eruption, 74,000 years ago, was exceptional. Releasing … Read More

The Big C – visualising the killer disease’s impact

Peter Griffin • Apr 15, 2010

• infographic,
• pancreatic cancer,
• Sydney Morning Herald

This infographic comes from the Health & Science pages of today’s Sydney Morning Herald, which features an interesting feature on pancreatic cancer. Accompanying the story is the infographic below. At first I found it a little confusing as I tried to decode it moving from top to bottom when in fact you need to start at the … Read More

Drinking and driving – how much is too much?

Peter Griffin • Apr 13, 2010

• Data,
• data visualisation,
• graphic design,
• Infographics

Last week, the media was full of stories of the carnage on our roads over Easter and the growing chorus of calls to cut the blood alcohol limit to tackle drunk drivers. MacDoctor is sceptical a cut – from the current limit of 80mg/100ml to 50mg/100ml, will make any difference. But scientists in an SMC briefing … Read More

Summer of Stats – our world in numbers

Peter Griffin • Jan 01, 2010

• Statistics New Zealand

A series produced by Statistics New Zealand looking at the statistics behind travel, food the Consumer Price Index and much more… PART 1 -What food costs PART 2 – Of lettuces, strawberries and things PART 3 – What we buy PART 4 – Summer travel PART … Read More

The cellular phone book

Vic Arcus • Sep 30, 2009

• cell,
• evolution,
• genome,
• organisation

The phone book for a city is a dull read. The surnames, initials and addresses for everyone who lives in a city. For the truly bored, you might find some prurient entertainment in some of the more descriptive surnames. It’s not even complete, given that a significant number of the inhabitants choose not to have their names published. However, with … Read More