![\"Books](\"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/pnr\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2019\/08\/Books-300x253.jpg\")
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Stephen Few is no amateur when it comes to data analysis and data visualization; as the author of more than half a dozen books on data analysis and data visualization, this Pacific Northwest resident has become a trusted expert on the topic.<\/p>\n
In Few\u2019s newest book which was released this past May 2019 entitled \u201cThe Data Loom\u201d, he does not disappoint his growing data fans.\u00a0 In a time where dressing up data stories with cheap tricks (i.e. useless and misleading data visualizations to suit your own objectives) has become popular, Few reminds us of the importance of truthful data storytelling and truthful data presentations.\u00a0 Few teaches us how to think critically and scientifically when it comes to thinking about our data and data presentation.\u00a0 In fact, Few asserts that we don\u2019t really live in the \u201cInformation Age\u201d but more of the \u201cData Age\u201d where data only is valuable to us after we make sense of it \u2013 i.e. through data sensemaking.<\/p>\n
In Chapter 3 entitled \u201cThink Scientifically\u201d, Few reflects on the greater purpose of data sensemaking (63):<\/p>\n
\u201cToo often, data sensemaking focuses solely on collecting and reporting facts. However, facts are only useful if they lead to an understanding that enables decisions and actions that produce a better world.\u00a0 Not every question involves causal relationships, but the most important questions do.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Through being able to think critically and scientifically, we are in a better position to really understand and use data in a truthful and valuable way that will ultimately affect our ability to make good decisions.\u00a0 Few\u2019s knowledge of critical and scientific thinking comes shining through with many of his inspirational quotes and book references from great thinkers.\u00a0 Masterfully, Stephen Few succinctly sums up a huge body of essential statistical, philosophical, and scientific works into a matter of 122 pages. \u00a0\u201cThe Data Loom\u201d by Stephen Few is an amazingly concise work on thinking about data and a very worthwhile read!!!<\/p>\n Additional Reading by Stephen Few:<\/strong><\/p>\n Show Me the Numbers<\/p>\n Information Dashboard Design: Displaying Data for At-a-Glance Monitoring<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Stephen Few is no amateur when it comes to data analysis and data visualization; as the author of more than half a dozen books on data analysis and data visualization, this Pacific Northwest resident has become a trusted expert on the topic. In Few\u2019s newest book which was released this past May 2019 entitled \u201cThe… Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2945,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[52,54,9,5],"tags":[201,202,49,203],"class_list":["post-17987","post","type-post","status-archive","format-standard","hentry","category-blog","category-data-science","category-health-literacy","category-training-education","tag-book-review","tag-critical-thinking","tag-data","tag-scientific-thinking"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2945"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17987"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17987\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17990,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17987\/revisions\/17990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.nnlm.gov\/region_5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}