cs 5984 Information Visualization Chris North GTA Purvi

cs 5984: Information Visualization Chris North GTA: Purvi Saraiya Infovis meister: Nathan

What is Information Visualization? • The use of computer-supported, interactive, visual representations of abstract data to amplify cognition

The Big Problem Web, books, papers, game scores, Scientific data, Biotech, Data Transfer Shopping Data People Stock/finance News How? Vision: 100 MB/s Ears: <100 b/s Telepathy Haptic/tactile Smell taste Human

Human Vision • • • Highest bandwidth sense Fast, parallel Pattern recognition Pre-attentive Extends memory and cognitive capacity • (Multiplication test) • People think visually Impressive. Lets use it!

• Which state has highest Income? • Relationship between Income and Education? • Outliers?

College Degree % Per Capita Income

• What if you could only see 1 state’s data at a time? (e. g. Census Bureau’s website) • What if I read the data to you?

Find the green square?

History: Static Graphics

Interactive Graphics • Homefinder

More than just “data transfer” • Support the ability to glean higher level knowledge from the data • Learn = data knowledge Insight!

What’s the Big Deal?

Presentation is everything!

Optimization: My Philosophy Computer • Serial • Symbolic • Static • Deterministic • Exact • Binary, 0/1 • Computation • Programmed • Follow instructions • Amoral Human • Parallel • Visual • Dynamic • Non-deterministic • Fuzzy • Gestalt, whole, patterns • Understanding • Free will • Creative • Moral Visualization = the best of both Impressive computation + impressive cognition

You will learn how to: * • • Design visual, interactive representations Critique existing designs Development visualization software Empirically evaluate designs An HCI focus • A visualization = a user interface for data

Related Courses • • Scientific Visualization (ESM 4714) Computer Graphics (4204, 6 xxx) Usability Engineering (5714) Research Methods! (5014) • • Model & Theories of HCI (5724) User Interface Software (5984) Info Storage & Retrieval (5604) Databases (5614)

Course Mechanics • Grading: • 10% Paper presentation & discussion • 30% Homeworks • 60% Project • Format: • • Research class Read research papers Discussion Contribute to research, Project! • dude. cs. vt. edu

Research Class • • Creativity No “right” answer Reasoning/argument is more important Self motivation Open ended Contribute to the state-of-the-art Jump start for thesis research

Research = Learning the state-of-the-art + Creativity (Design) + Science (Measurement, Modeling) + Dissemination = project

HW #1 • • Due sept 6, thurs Find some data 104 c mcbryde Spotfire, tablelens(eureka), parallel coordinates (xmdvtool), star coordinates (stardeck). Pick 2 What you learned about the data? 1 pg Comparison of the 2 tools. 1 pg Purvi will give demo on Friday, and hours

project • • Build a new visualization Evaluation Groups 2 -4 Choose topic Literature review Build it! Write a paper about it Give a presentation.