Statistics: Visualizing Data
TED Studies, created in collaboration with Wiley, are curated video collections — supplemented by rich educational materials — for students, educators and self-guided learners. In Visualizing Data, TED speakers shake up statistics with elegant, dynamic representations that make mountains of data comprehensible — and even exciting. Learn how to visualize data and present complicated statistics in elegant and captivating ways. Relevant areas of interest, study and coursework include: information design, demography, statistical literacy, economics, sociology, media studies, linguistics, meteorology and computer science.
Learning outcomes
TED's Visualizing Data will provide learners with a deeper knowledge of:
- Several diverse and creative ways to display data
- How data can transform our understanding of the world
- How presenting data in the right way can offer powerful insights
- How to appreciate the interplay between creative art and scientific data
- Current advances in the ways in which we can learn from data (including sight and sound)
- How technology is expanding both our access to data and our ability to use and display it effectively
- How to apply new data visualization methods to produce creative displays of information
- How to evaluate the effectiveness of data displays.
Relevant talks
Chris Jordan
Turning powerful stats into art
David McCandless
The beauty of data visualization
Deb Roy
The birth of a word
Hans Rosling
The magic washing machine
Nathalie Miebach
Art made of storms
About the educators
Robin Lock, Patti Frazier Lock, Kari Lock Morgan, Eric Lock and Dennis Lock are a family of five statisticians. Their book Statistics: Unlocking the Power of Data (Wiley, 2013) uses modern simulation methods and the power of visualization to build conceptual understanding of the key ideas of statistical inference.
About TED Studies
TED Studies created in partnership with 
Each TED Study offers a curated and sequenced set of TED Talks, along with specially commissioned materials for teaching and self-guided learning. Created by world class experts, they cover topics ranging from "Understanding Happiness" to "Covering World News" to "Ecofying Cities." An abbreviated version of TED Studies is offered here; the full curricula — including special modules on each talk with questions, assignments, key terms and recommended reading — are available for licensing to academic institutions, ministries of education, and media companies worldwide.
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