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 and label in their graphs to represent the first two dimensions of data 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 is traslated into corresponding hue value, and the y-axis is translated into text labels; that is, the mass of colorful lines is actually 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. | |
− | + | The numbers themselves can be more easily discerned by [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/4/4a/compact_graphs_2x.png zooming in on the image]. | |
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+ | With this particular dataset of five data points, it is relatively easy to discern the labels as an orangish-red '''<span style="color:#ff3a00">62</span>''', a green '''<span style="color:#8afc03">205</span>''', a blue '''<span style="color:#0060ff">230</span>''', a turquoise '''<span style="color:#08a387">187</span>''' and a yellow '''<span style="color:#ffdb0f">159</span>'''. | ||
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+ | As mentioned, the label's colors are not arbitrary; rather each color represents a dimension of the data point as a Hue value from 0 to 100 in the Hue, Saturation, Value (HSV) model. In the HSV color model, the hue component represents the color type and is usually expressed as an angle on the color wheel, where 0 degrees is red. The hue values are often given in degrees, ranging from 0 to 360. Each value corresponds to a position on the color wheel, defining a specific color. | ||
[[File:color wheel.png|thumb|Color wheel]] | [[File:color wheel.png|thumb|Color wheel]] | ||
− | + | Assuming it's the HSV color model that Randall intended to use, it appears he has made a mistake while assigning the colors; 3 of the x-axis values correspond to their hue, while for the other 2 data points, it's the y-axis value that corresponds to its hue value. One potential explanation is that Randall wanted to keep the x-axis values of his illustration between 0 and 100 (maybe they represent real-world percentages) while having a range of colors across the rainbow for the Hue-Label graph. The confusion may be intentional, as a way to illustrate how limited this type of graph style actually is. | |
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+ | * The red 62 corresponds to an x-value of approx. 15, a hue value corresponding to a shade of warm red. In the HSV color wheel, red starts at 0, and as the value increases, it transitions to orange and then yellow. | ||
− | + | * The yellow 159 corresponds to an x-value of approx. 40, in the range that typically represents warm yellow. On the HSV color wheel, yellow appears after orange and before green. | |
− | + | * The green 205 corresponds to an x-value of approx. 69, a hue value for green. It's located in the segment of the color wheel where the primary green color is found, distinct from yellow or turquoise. | |
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− | + | * The turquoise 187: 187 is near the hue value for turquoise. In the color wheel, turquoise lies between green and blue, so a hue value of 187 is in the range where green transitions into blue, giving it that distinctive turquoise color. (The x-axis value of 85 would be yellowish green) | |
− | + | * The blue 230: 230 is the hue value for blue. On the color wheel, blue hues start after turquoise and extend towards violet/purple. A hue of 230 is a clear, distinct blue. (The x-axis value of 100 would be warm green) | |
− | + | An 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). | |
− | + | Beyond the readability issues, one drawback of the Hue-Label system is that the Hue dimension could only handle values from 0 to 360, and values that are near each other (e.g., height of a basketball team's players as measured in inches), would all appear to be similar colors. | |
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. | 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: An example of hue being used to represent a dimension in a graph (but not as a placeholder for a 0 to 100 numerical value, though) is on topographical maps, where the x and y axes are geographic position, and the hue (color) of a point may represent the height of the terrain there via {{w|hypsometric tints}}. | |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== |