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Six degrees of Wikipedia
Stephen Dolan at Trinity College Dublin has found a way to show the smallest number of Kevin Bacon steps separate any article on Wikipedia from any other.
So for instance, if you want to find the shortest path between, say, the Sweetgum tree and ball bearings, just enter them on the page and check out the results (you usually have to submit a couple of times before it works):
Sweetgum --> Glacier --> Friction --> Ball bearing ... 4 steps! Stephen Dolan at Trinity College Dublin has found a way to show the smallest number of Kevin Bacon steps separate any article on Wikip... more -
Stats for one-hit wonders and pop longevity 1957-present
Longevity of a Pop Song
One of the trickier questions I've been trying to visualize is how long pop songs are staying on the charts relative to the past. Are they staying on the charts longer than in the past?
In the chart below, I plotted the total number of weeks charted for all 23,924 songs that appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 from 1957 to earlier this year. (In other words, a little dot on the "60" line means there was a song released that week that stayed on the Hot 100 chart for 60 weeks.) Longevity of a Pop Song ... more -
Gas prices around the world
Gas in the U.S. is really cheap compared to the rest of the world. So why are Americans crying so much? Car companies didn't force anybody to buy giant SUVs. $4.00 a gallon is a bargain.
Gas in the U.S. is really cheap compared to the rest of the world. So why are Americans crying so much? Car companies didn't force any... more -
Where do all the neurotics live?
Psychologists have shown that human personalities can be classified along five key dimensions: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience. And each of these dimensions has been found to affect key life outcomes from life expectancy and divorce to political ideology, job choices and performance, and innovation and creativity.
What's more, it turns out these personality types are not spread evenly across the country. They cluster. And how they cluster tells us much: What city someone might want to move to, the broader character of regions, and even the creative and economic futures of broad swaths of the nation.
Drawing on a database of hundreds of thousands of individual personality surveys compiled by psychologists Jason Rentfrow, Sam Gosling, and Jeff Porter, the team was able to map the distribution of personality types across the United States. The result is a fascinating new way of looking at the country's terrain. Psychologists have shown that human personalities can be classified along five key dimensions: agreeableness, conscientiousness, extro... more -
View 'current.com' as a Graph
In an odd and interesting way, there is a web site at 'aharef.info' that will break down any URL into a graph. Watch Current expand .. In an odd and interesting way, there is a web site at 'aharef.info' that will break down any URL into a graph. Watch Current expand ..... more
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The Geometry of Music
A research team at Princeton University "has outlined a method called "geometrical music theory" that translates the language of musical theory into that of contemporary geometry. They take sequences of notes, like chords, rhythms and scales, and categorize them so they can be grouped into "families." They have found a way to assign mathematical structure to these families, so they can then be represented by points in complex geometrical spaces, much the way "x" and "y" coordinates, in the simpler system of high school algebra, correspond to points on a two-dimensional plane.
Different types of categorization produce different geometrical spaces, and reflect the different ways in which musicians over the centuries have understood music. This achievement, they expect, will allow researchers to analyze and understand music in much deeper and more satisfying ways."
"The method could help answer whether there are new scales and chords that exist but have yet to be discovered."
"Our methods [...] might allow you to visualize some of the differences between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. And they certainly help you understand more deeply how classical music relates to rock or is different from atonal music."
Princeton University (2008, April 18). Music Has Its Own Geometry, Researchers Find. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 29, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080417142454.htm
(via http://en.towerofbabel.com/blog/) A research team at Princeton University "has outlined a method called "geometrical music theory" that translates the language of music... more -
The best of the best on political networks
This website collects (among many topics) the international cream of the crop in terms of political networks. Check out why political discussions in France and Japan look so different from the US through maps of the respective blogospheres; or look at how US Senator voting patterns tell us a whole lot about McCains tough road ahead... among many other fascinating projects! What do you think about these studies? This website collects (among many topics) the international cream of the crop in terms of political networks. Check out why political ... more
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21 (eco)visualizations for energy consumption awareness
Data Visualization blog Flowing Data presents 21 eye-catchingly educational tools - from websites to plug-in power meters - that help us better understand our impact on the ecosystem.
Data Visualization blog Flowing Data presents 21 eye-catchingly educational tools - from websites to plug-in power meters - that help ... more -
Artist tracks the way we use language
"WordCount™ is an artistic experiment in the way we use language. It presents the 86,800 most frequently used English words, ranked in order of commonness.
The goal is for the user to feel embedded in the language, sifting through words like an archaeologist through sand, awaiting the unexpected find. Observing closely ranked words tells us a great deal about our culture. For instance, “God” is one word from “began”, two words from “start”, and six words from “war”. Another sequence is "america ensure oil opportunity".
"WordCount™ is an artistic experiment in the way we use language. It presents the 86,800 most frequently used English words, ranked in... more -
Facebook graphs speech of the masses
A new feature on Facebook dubbed "Lexicon" allows you to chart the occurrence of words over time by looking at text found in the site's message board posts. Facebook offers such suggested searches as "midterm, final" or "yankees, red sox". The crack-ups at Valleywag suggest "pregnant, tequila". Try it yourself: http://www.facebook.com/lexicon/ A new feature on Facebook dubbed "Lexicon" allows you to chart the occurrence of words over time by looking at text found in the site'... more
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Map of U.S. Pollution
Purdue scientists have released a high-resolution map of American per-capita carbon dioxide emissions to Wired.com. It shows the amount of carbon dioxide produced in 100 square kilometer regions of the United States divided by the number of residents in that area. Purdue scientists have released a high-resolution map of American per-capita carbon dioxide emissions to Wired.com. It shows the amoun... more
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You're all going to die, but how?
Some interesting stats presented in a nice, eye-catching way on the odds of dying from various causes.
I call shotgun on 'space accident'! Some interesting stats presented in a nice, eye-catching way on the odds of dying from various causes. ... more -
Go east, young man
At least if you're looking for a girl.
Man, those giant blue dots all along the Pacific are scary. Can the West's vastly larger population of (mostly male) nerds explain it? Or are there other factors at work? At least if you're looking for a girl. ... more -
"Breath of a Nation"
A map of the carbon emissions of the US mapped to 100km. This map speaks for itself.
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Global news-reporting infoporn
See which parts of the world receive the most 'attention' from major western mainstream media outlets in a pretty and colourful fashion.
See which parts of the world receive the most 'attention' from major western mainstream media outlets in a pretty and colourful fashio... more -
The Best of Graphic Data Porn
The web is all about data these days. When interacting with data, often less design is more. (see Google.com) BUT, that doesnt mean that its not fun to turn some graphic designers loose on a mountain of data and see what badass visualizations can come flowing out.
Here's an article summarizing the best online tools for data visualization. Suh-weeeeet! The web is all about data these days. When interacting with data, often less design is more. (see Google.com) BUT, that doesnt mean... more -
Science vs Scientology
When the two are compared next to each other on one handy timeline, it's like an epic battle to the death between logic and evidence versus aliens and, um, space... stuff. When the two are compared next to each other on one handy timeline, it's like an epic battle to the death between logic and evidence v... more
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The world map of social networks
Let's play global domination. Here's a map of the world, showing the dominant social networks by country, according to Alexa.
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The ebb and flow of movies
Even box offices experience tides, with summer blockbusters and Oscar buzz making up the bulk of revenue each year. The New York Times has put together this cool visual to illustrate how well movies from 1987 to 2007 did, adjusted for inflation.
Click the link to see the interactive chart. Even box offices experience tides, with summer blockbusters and Oscar buzz making up the bulk of revenue each year. The New York Times... more
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