Infographics can be considered useful or they can be very misleading. However, I believe that if someone was looking for information in an infographic then they should look closely at the visual to make sure it is useful and valuable information. In the article it states that, “We have a natural tendency to trust images more than text. As a result, we’re easily fooled by data visualizations”. I think this is accurate because people are more intrigued by visuals because they are more attractive to the eye and easier to stay focused on. People will believe the infographics because the information is easier to follow even if they are scaled poorly. The article talks about three steps to avoid receiving false information from visuals and if people are able to follow these steps I think that they can get the information they need or want. In another article it refers to infographics as being misleading, not technically as lying. This is what I see infographics as; people will design the visuals to show what they are intending to show. Even if this means to mislead the viewer. I think that if someone was going to use a visual as a source then they should really look into the infographic to see if the information is valid. If they allow the visual to fool them then they are being careless in their search for information.
From another article it gives the above picture which is an example of how visuals can be misleading. The picture is comparing the deaths due to terrorism versus the deaths due to lack of health care in the United States. I see the information as misleading because I do not see how the two topics are exactly related other than the fact that they are problems in the United States. This image can make the problem of terrorism seem small and the lack of health care as a much larger problem. I believe that the two problems should be seen as more of equal problems. What do you think about Infographics and how they give information?
September 24, 2015 at 5:55 pm
It takes a well-polished and informed brain to sift through the junk on the internet. Your infographic example is a great example of infographics that are full of junk. Two unrelated issues being brought together by misleading statistics. The logic in that infographic would also do something dumb like compare the amount of natural caused deaths vs murders to demonstrate that murders are not that big of a problem.
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September 24, 2015 at 6:05 pm
Agreed. I’m a visual learner so whenever I am reading an article I tend to find the graphics and pictures before I start reading just because they’re more interesting than text. People just need to be wary of the sources and sample sizes of the graphics so they are not fooled into false information.
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