Practice question · Multiple choice
Tufte argued a chart should maximise the data-ink ratio: the share of a graphic that encodes actual numbers. Why does decoration cost more than aesthetics?
Hints
- Ask what a 3D pie chart adds to the numbers, and what it does to comparing two slices.
- The eye has limited attention. Where is the decoration spending it?
Show the answer
D. Because every non-data mark competes with the data for attention
Why
Ink that encodes nothing still gets looked at, and a 3D pie chart actively distorts, perspective makes near slices read larger. The reason to strip a chart is not taste but bandwidth: everything removed is attention returned to the comparison you wanted the reader to make.
Practise Data Visualization
The app has 6 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Psychology I is free to start.