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I guess it is my turn to be that guy. None of those graphs should be line graphs. There is no continuous X variable.
by keenerd 9y ago
I guess it is my turn to be that guy.
None of those graphs should be line graphs. There is no continuous X variable.
- gghhvgx 9y agoYou mean run-of-the mill contrarian, pedantic, let's-rain-shit-on-those-doing-the-work internet asshole? Yeah, checks out. Pray tell, how else would you represent all this data? It's not politics, they're not actively trying to mislead you here.
- soared 9y agoStacked bar graph
- gghhvgx 9y agoHarder to read Choice ultimately down to personal preference.
- kevinwang 9y agoI strongly agree with the other guy
- fwefwwfe 9y ago6 different overlapping lines like that make it easier to read? It's amazing what people chalk up to personal preference.
- gghhvgx 9y agoIf you have a better hypothesis as to why the authors chose a line graph over a bar graph, I'm all ears. In the meantime see comment upthread for a rationale[0] [0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14555853 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14555853
- pjvandehaar 9y agoI agree that a stacked bar graph would be nice, since the focus is on the per-species total across all 8 tooth types. Could you explain why a line graph is bad for a discrete but ordered variable, like [Molars - Premolars - Canines - Incisors]?
- benchaney 9y agoIn this case a line graph is bad because the line doesn't mean anything. It implies an extrapolation that doesn't actually exist.
- jdmichal 9y agoThe lines make it easier for the eye to track from one point to the next of the same series. They also make it easy to visually compare different wear patterns for different species, especially as the teeth are sorted back-to-front. For instance, on the mandible chart, the lines make it very easy to see that the teal, red, and blue lines have similar patterns.