One of the things I do in my own ongoing effort to unlearn is to, on a regular basis, try new things. Today, I tried out IBM’s innovative Many Eye’s tool. Among other things, it helps people "see" information in a new and different light.
To test out the technology, I listed the number of deaths which occurred in the United States from 2000-2005 and listed them by cause. Here is what the information looked like in a print format.
Cause of death Number
Terrorism 3,000
Homicide 96,000
Drunk Driving 102,000
Obesity 154,884
Suicide 180,000
Second-hand smoke 228,000
Medical mistakes 264,000
Diabetes 436,890
Cancer 2,311,134
Heart disease 3,119,142
Here is what it looks like in a visual format:
Bottomline: How you present information makes a big difference. Perhaps if our elected representatives viewed more information in this light they might decide to spend less money on some activities (such as the "war on terrorism" perhaps) and more on others — such as preventing suicide or heart disease.
