Editing 2864: Compact Graphs
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | This is another one of | + | {{incomplete|Created by HUGH LABEL, PROTECTOR OF THE COLOR REALM - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}} |
+ | This comic is another one of [[:Category:Tips|Randall's Tips]]. In it, he tells graphic designers they can be more space-efficient by using hue (an element of color) and label in their graphs to represent the first two dimensions of a dataset rather than what's traditional: using x and y axes and then using hue and label to represent additional dimensions (such as the z-axis). | ||
− | + | In this comic's hue-label graph, the x-axis dimension is (mostly) translated into corresponding hue value, and the y-axis dimension is translated into text labels; that is, the mass of colorful lines is actually [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4a/compact_graphs_2x.png several numbers written in the same spot]. Each number is one of the y-coordinates of a point in the left graph, and its color (usually) corresponds to its x-coordinate using the Hue, Saturation, Value (HSV) model. In other words, the colors are not arbitrary; each color represents a dimension of the data point as a Hue value from 0 to 100 in the HSV color model. | |
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− | In this comic's hue-label graph, the x-axis dimension is (mostly) translated into corresponding hue | ||
[[File:color wheel.png|thumb|Color wheel]] | [[File:color wheel.png|thumb|Color wheel]] | ||
− | In the HSV color model, the hue component represents the color type and is expressed as an angle on the color wheel, where 0 degrees is red. The hue values are given in degrees, ranging from 0 to 360. Each value corresponds to a position on the color wheel, defining a specific color. | + | In the HSV color model, the hue component represents the color type and is expressed as an angle on the color wheel, where 0 degrees is red. The hue values are given in degrees, ranging from 0 to 360. Each value corresponds to a position on the color wheel, defining a specific color. When used like this to represent specific quantities, the Hue dimension can only handle values from 0 to 360, and values within a narrow range (e.g., height of a basketball team's players as measured in inches) would all appear to be similar colors. |
This Hue-Label graph contains the five data points as an orangish-red '''<span style="color:#ff3a00">62</span>''', a yellow '''<span style="color:#ffdb0f">159</span>''', a green '''<span style="color:#8afc03">205</span>''', a turquoise '''<span style="color:#08a387">187</span>''' and a blue '''<span style="color:#0060ff">230</span>'''. | This Hue-Label graph contains the five data points as an orangish-red '''<span style="color:#ff3a00">62</span>''', a yellow '''<span style="color:#ffdb0f">159</span>''', a green '''<span style="color:#8afc03">205</span>''', a turquoise '''<span style="color:#08a387">187</span>''' and a blue '''<span style="color:#0060ff">230</span>'''. | ||
− | # The red '''<span style="color:#ff3a00">62</span>''' corresponds to an x-value of approx. | + | # The red '''<span style="color:#ff3a00">62</span>''' corresponds to an x-value of approx. 157, a hue value corresponding to a shade of warm red. |
# The yellow '''<span style="color:#ffdb0f">159</span>''' corresponds to an x-value of approx. 36, in the range that typically represents warm yellow. | # The yellow '''<span style="color:#ffdb0f">159</span>''' corresponds to an x-value of approx. 36, in the range that typically represents warm yellow. | ||
# The green '''<span style="color:#8afc03">205</span>''' corresponds to an x-value of approx. 67, a hue value for yellowish green. | # The green '''<span style="color:#8afc03">205</span>''' corresponds to an x-value of approx. 67, a hue value for yellowish green. | ||
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# The blue '''<span style="color:#0060ff">230</span>''': 230 is the hue value for a clear, distinct blue. (This data point's x-axis value of 100 would be warm green.) | # The blue '''<span style="color:#0060ff">230</span>''': 230 is the hue value for a clear, distinct blue. (This data point's x-axis value of 100 would be warm green.) | ||
− | Interestingly, the first three data points have hue colors representing their ''x-axis values'', while the last two data points' colors correspond to their ''y-axis values'' | + | Interestingly, the first three data points have hue colors representing their ''x-axis values'', while the last two data points' colors correspond to their ''y-axis values''. |
− | This inconsistency may be | + | This inconsistency may be a mistake on Randall's part, or it may be intentional. Randall's intent may have been to keep the x-axis values of his illustration between 0 and 100 (perhaps they represent real-world percentages) while having a range of colors across the rainbow for the Hue-Label graph. Either way, the inconsistency satirically reinforces how limited this type of graph style actually is. |
− | + | An hypothetical example of a potential topic for these 5 datapoints is '''Exercise Duration vs. Calorie Burn'''. In this scenario, on the x-axis, the duration of exercise in minutes (0 to 100) would be plotted, and the y-axis would show the calories burned (0 to 200). The longer the exercise duration, the more calories are burned, but the graph shows it's not a perfect correlation. Many other scenarios are possible, and the true scenario may be related to whatever What If? video script Randall is currently writing; at the time of this comic, he had just published his first two What If? videos to YouTube and said he was working on more of them. | |
− | + | The title text mentions that people may complain about readability, as is evident from the jumbled mess of seemingly meaningless lines in the hue and label graph in the comic. It says that discerning the data points is "computationally feasible, as long as there aren't too many of them". The decryption of information being labelled as "computationally feasible" implies that it is so difficult to discern, that the best thing that can be said about it is that it is not completely impossible. | |
− | + | Trivia: Hue is commonly used to represent a proportional dimension in geospatial analytics, such as relative rainfall on meteorological maps or relative height on topographical maps ({{w|hypsometric tints}}), usually with a key. This is quite different than using hue to directly represent a numerical value from 0 to 360. | |
+ | [[file:WeatherBow.png|thumb|center|550px|alt=TV weather forecast color scale]] | ||
A color scale graph was previously the source of a joke in [[2537: Painbow Award]]. | A color scale graph was previously the source of a joke in [[2537: Painbow Award]]. | ||
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== |