In a class that I was in recently, the professor made a startling remark that shook us from our routine passivity. He declared that pie charts a very bad representation of data that are not appropriate for most situations. Yes, you heard it right! That goes against our most fundamental of beliefs... or at least Dilbert’s :)
But yes, there is sense in it. The arguments are convincing. Here is what i found -
- Steven's power laws states that visual area is perceived with a power of 0.7, compared to a power of 1.0 for length, making length a much better measure.
- Numerous experiments in visual perception have proved that angles are not easy or intuitive to interpret for the human brain. In fact, our brains are infamous for being prone to underestimating acute and overestimating obtuse angles, which is the basis for Poggendorff's illusion.
So next time you want to use the wedge jutting out of a pie because its fancy and alluring, remember that a series of bars is a lot more easier for the human brain to grasp!
