Working With Words, Numbers and Images: A Reading List

Rob Oakes — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 18:10:28 +0000

There are three tools that a professional, scientific or technical writer needs to make use of: words, numbers and images. In many cases, such as an effective illustration or chart, all three will be used.

The following books introduce principles and examples of how to use these tools to their fullest extent. Some of the titles are historical and others are academic. In every case, though, they highlight strategies that can be used to more effectively communicate ideas. Additionally, each one is also an interesting and fantastic read.

	Math and the Mona Lisa by Bulent Atalay. For more than 500 years, the name of Leonardo Da Vinci has been synonymous with brilliance. His careful observation of nature, collection and analysis of evidence, and use of mathematics to explain his observations represented a radical shift that foreshadowed the modern scientific method.In this book, Bulent Atalay explains why Leonardo was a remarkable artist, engineer and scientist. He looks at the hidden patterns, geometric concepts and impeccable perspective in order to probe the mind that dreamt of helicopters, unsinkable ships and underwater exploration.
	Leonardo’s Notebooks, edited by H. Anna Suh. To understand a man, you must read him in his own words. This volume provides an opportunity to sample Da Vinci’s writings on anatomy, botany, architecture, sculpture and the physical sciences. The key illustrations from his notebooks have also been reproduced.
	Galielo at Work: His Scientific Biography by Stillman Drake. Like Leonardo, Galileo was a scientific titan. As Stephen Hawking aptly summarized, “Galileo, perhaps more than any other single person, was responsible for the birth of modern science.”But why? What was it about his innovative combination of experiment and mathematics that was so important. How did he analyze data? How did he present it to others?This book attempts to answer those questions. It lays aside the philosophical implications of Galileo’s rift with the Catholic church and instead looks at how Galileo focused his mind on physical quantities and the mathematical relationships between them.
	The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte. Communicating complex ideas is difficult. One of the most important tools in that struggle are charts, graphs and illustrations. Unfortunately, however, these important figures often receive less attention than other aspects of a manuscript.In this book, Tufte provides inspiring examples of graphics that are beautiful to behold and illuminating to ponder. He also includes shockingly bad examples and explains why they are so dangerous.
	Visual Explanations by Edward Tufte. In his earlier work, Tufte showed how important it is for numbers to be communicated clearly and without distracting ornamentation. In this volume, he turns his attention to a slightly different series of questions: What is the best way to show cause and effect? Or to demonstrate evolutionary change?But the most important question he asks is far more universal: How can an information display be be used to reveal the truth? To answer this, he analyzes a cholera epidemic in 19th century London and explains how poor communication contributed to the explosion of the Challenger space shuttle.
	Beautiful Evidence by Edward Tufte. Like in his previous books, Tufte again tackles the question of how to best reveal truth through the graphical display of information. But where earlier books focused on principles, Beautiful Evidence is about how seeing turns into showing. To explore that theme, this book is filled with hundreds of spectacular examples and thoughtful commentary on what makes them unique.
	Now You See It by Stephen Few. The human mind is amazingly adept at seeing and understanding patterns. An informed eye can distinguish between authentic and forgery and arrive at startlingly accurate calculations with minimal effort. But even though we are capable of recognizing the hidden influences in the world around us, we can also be mislead and exploited far too easily. We become awash in a sea of data of our own making.This book attempts to explain how the mind interprets and sees information. As the author explains in the introduction, “[This book] provides tools to dive into the ocean of information, net the best of it, bring it back to shore and sort it out.” In essence, it’s a book about seeing and distinguishing patterns on a conscious level.
	Visual Thinking by Rudolf Arnheim. It’s long been known that “seeing is believing.” This book explains why seeing is also synonymous with thinking.
	Maps and Civilization: Cartography in Culture and Society by Norman J.W. Thrower. The history of exploration and discovery is also the history of cartography. As mankind sailed out of sight of shore, he needed to learn techniques for representing his position and understanding the natural forces that he might encounter. This book tells the history of mapmaking and how advances in cartography impacted civilization.
	The Elements of Graphing Data by William S. Cleveland. In this book by William Cleveland, he presents the nuts and bolts (the how-to) of graphing data. Then he goes on to explore the science in which his principles are based..
	Visualizing Data by William S. Cleveland. Whereas The Elements of Graphing Data is primarily focused on the principles of quality display and exploration of many types of common statistical charts, Visualizing Data takes the next logical step. It introduces a number of new chart types and techniques for creating insightful and clear graphics.
	Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2003 to 2005 by Thomas E. Ricks. Serious endeavors require careful forethought and nuanced planning; and few enterprises are more serious than the business of war. This controversial book looks at the missteps and mistakes of the American military as it justified, planned and executed the 2003 Iraq War.It contains haunting examples of how information can be distorted and obfuscated by both well-meaning individuals and those with insidious hidden agendas. It also explains how the adoption of American corporate culture and leadership by PowerPoint lead to serious miscommunication and early failure.
	The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture and Deviance at NASA by Diane Vaughan. The Challenger explosion on January 28, 1986 changed the course of manned space flight forever. But how did it happen? What factors lead to it? Might it have been prevented?In The Challenger Launch Decision, Diane Vaughan attempts to answer those questions. In the process, she reveals that the Challenger explosion wasn’t the result of intentional wrongdoing but rather a slow-creeping definition of “normal” and comfort with the status quo.

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Working With Words, Numbers and Images: A Reading List

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