5 ms·

W. E. B. Du Bois's Modernist Data Visualizations of Black Life (2016)

103 points by catacombs 6y ago

typon 6y ago
When everyone uses chart.js or bokeh or matplotlib, you don't really see graphs that go out of the normal range of visualizations supported by these libraries. In a way the ability to use generic code hampers creativity because it's easy to find a "good enough solution" to your problems.
- pvg 6y ago
  Are these really 'generic' though? d3.js is and people make all sorts of zany visualizations with it.
  - monadic2 6y ago
    I wouldn’t categorize it as technically generic, just culturally. d3.js is incredibly flexible but I can’t count how many d3 graphs I’ve stepped through with the exact same spacing algorithms and interface.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
- dTal 6y ago
  That's probably a good thing. These "creative" graphs are interesting to look at, but most are useless for actually comparing information. A standard visual language for charts is a positive thing.
blululu 6y ago
It's always fascinating to see historical data visualizations. History is a great antidote against the bias toward the current era. I feel like Ed Tufte would tear some of these graphics to shreds, but collectively the presentation manages to tell a powerful story.
- uxp100 6y ago
  Yes, they really are fascinating. Some are wildly confusing, but really interesting and modern as graphic design. Some are pretty good at communicating information. I think the ones selected here (from the full set at loc.gov) tend to be the more "modern" ones.
- 082349872349872 6y ago
  It's not only HN which has been affected by George Floyd. I ran across the following modern visualisation on a site which normally runs container shipping news. https://slavevoyages.org/voyage/database#timelapse https://slavevoyages.org/voyage/database#timelapse One can clearly see the British slave trade dry up post 1815. (on a site normally dealing with maritime issues, I see Lloyd's of London have apologised for their work insuring these voyages)
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - DanBC 6y ago
    That's a great visualisation. It's useful to read this wikipedia article in combination with the visualisation to see when various laws were introduced. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_Trade_Act_1807 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_Trade_Act_1807
pvg 6y ago
Previous thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18524949 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18524949
monadic2 6y ago
If anyone is interested in more of this there’s a beautiful, high quality book named “W. E. B. Du Bois’s Data Portraits/Visualizing Black America/The color line at the turn of the twentieth century” edited by Whitney Battle-Baptiste and Britt Rusert.
- wpietri 6y ago
  I bought a copy of this for Black History Month and really enjoyed it.
dash2 6y ago
These are really cool. It would be ace to write a ggplot theme for this style.
- ajstarks 6y ago
  See: https://twitter.com/CharlieEatonPhD/status/1270857395510509568?s=20 https://twitter.com/CharlieEatonPhD/status/12708573955105095...
ajstarks 6y ago
Digital re-creations: https://github.com/ajstarks/dubois-data-portraits https://github.com/ajstarks/dubois-data-portraits Presentation: https://speakerdeck.com/ajstarks/recreating-the-dubois-data-portraits https://speakerdeck.com/ajstarks/recreating-the-dubois-data-...
- monadic2 6y ago
  Very cool, thank you for putting this together!
- charlescearl 6y ago
  Beautiful! In the spirit of supporting Black devs and W.E.B., feel free to DM or post cashapp or other link. Or even even that of an organization if you prefer.
rak 6y ago
There is a modern version in the works: https://www.blackbythenumbers.com/ https://www.blackbythenumbers.com/
c3534l 6y ago
Wow, these are absolutely brilliant! I've seen some 1800s sociological charting before and it's not very interesting. They seemed to struggle with the idea of visualization at all and resorted to a lot of charts and tables that the reader was to study and interpret, on account of there not being a lot of statistics that were invented yet. These aren't just strangely modern, each one is wonderfully unique and artistic and would be delightfully creative on a modern data-driven site like 538 or in the New York Times. Maybe I just wasn't reading the best turn-of-the-century social science, which is not a field I'm an expert in, but these seem completely out of their time.
charlescearl 6y ago
Organizations now carrying on the work of documenting Black life through the data science lens include: Just Data Lab, https://www.thejustdatalab.com/team https://www.thejustdatalab.com/team Data For Black Lives, http://d4bl.org/ http://d4bl.org/ Detroit Technology Project Data Justice https://detroitcommunitytech.org/?q=datajustice https://detroitcommunitytech.org/?q=datajustice The COVID Racial Data Tracker, https://covidtracking.com/race https://covidtracking.com/race

103 points by catacombs 6y ago

When everyone uses chart.js or bokeh or matplotlib, you don't really see graphs that go out of the normal range of visualizations supported by these libraries. In a way the ability to use generic code hampers creativity because it's easy to find a "good enough solution" to your problems.

pvg 6y ago
Are these really 'generic' though? d3.js is and people make all sorts of zany visualizations with it.
- monadic2 6y ago
  I wouldn’t categorize it as technically generic, just culturally. d3.js is incredibly flexible but I can’t count how many d3 graphs I’ve stepped through with the exact same spacing algorithms and interface.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
dTal 6y ago
That's probably a good thing. These "creative" graphs are interesting to look at, but most are useless for actually comparing information. A standard visual language for charts is a positive thing.

blululu 6y ago

It's always fascinating to see historical data visualizations. History is a great antidote against the bias toward the current era. I feel like Ed Tufte would tear some of these graphics to shreds, but collectively the presentation manages to tell a powerful story.

uxp100 6y ago
Yes, they really are fascinating. Some are wildly confusing, but really interesting and modern as graphic design. Some are pretty good at communicating information. I think the ones selected here (from the full set at loc.gov) tend to be the more "modern" ones.
082349872349872 6y ago
It's not only HN which has been affected by George Floyd. I ran across the following modern visualisation on a site which normally runs container shipping news. https://slavevoyages.org/voyage/database#timelapse https://slavevoyages.org/voyage/database#timelapse One can clearly see the British slave trade dry up post 1815. (on a site normally dealing with maritime issues, I see Lloyd's of London have apologised for their work insuring these voyages)
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- DanBC 6y ago
  That's a great visualisation. It's useful to read this wikipedia article in combination with the visualisation to see when various laws were introduced. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_Trade_Act_1807 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slave_Trade_Act_1807

pvg 6y ago

Previous thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18524949 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18524949

monadic2 6y ago

If anyone is interested in more of this there’s a beautiful, high quality book named “W. E. B. Du Bois’s Data Portraits/Visualizing Black America/The color line at the turn of the twentieth century” edited by Whitney Battle-Baptiste and Britt Rusert.

wpietri 6y ago
I bought a copy of this for Black History Month and really enjoyed it.

dash2 6y ago

These are really cool. It would be ace to write a ggplot theme for this style.

ajstarks 6y ago
See: https://twitter.com/CharlieEatonPhD/status/1270857395510509568?s=20 https://twitter.com/CharlieEatonPhD/status/12708573955105095...

ajstarks 6y ago

Digital re-creations: https://github.com/ajstarks/dubois-data-portraits https://github.com/ajstarks/dubois-data-portraits Presentation: https://speakerdeck.com/ajstarks/recreating-the-dubois-data-portraits https://speakerdeck.com/ajstarks/recreating-the-dubois-data-...

monadic2 6y ago
Very cool, thank you for putting this together!
charlescearl 6y ago
Beautiful! In the spirit of supporting Black devs and W.E.B., feel free to DM or post cashapp or other link. Or even even that of an organization if you prefer.

rak 6y ago

There is a modern version in the works: https://www.blackbythenumbers.com/ https://www.blackbythenumbers.com/

c3534l 6y ago

Wow, these are absolutely brilliant! I've seen some 1800s sociological charting before and it's not very interesting. They seemed to struggle with the idea of visualization at all and resorted to a lot of charts and tables that the reader was to study and interpret, on account of there not being a lot of statistics that were invented yet. These aren't just strangely modern, each one is wonderfully unique and artistic and would be delightfully creative on a modern data-driven site like 538 or in the New York Times. Maybe I just wasn't reading the best turn-of-the-century social science, which is not a field I'm an expert in, but these seem completely out of their time.

charlescearl 6y ago

Organizations now carrying on the work of documenting Black life through the data science lens include: Just Data Lab, https://www.thejustdatalab.com/team https://www.thejustdatalab.com/team Data For Black Lives, http://d4bl.org/ http://d4bl.org/ Detroit Technology Project Data Justice https://detroitcommunitytech.org/?q=datajustice https://detroitcommunitytech.org/?q=datajustice The COVID Racial Data Tracker, https://covidtracking.com/race https://covidtracking.com/race