Data Visualization as Grief
What we gain when we think beyond spike maps, choropleths, and curvy case charts
Since the start of the pandemic, data visualization has taken center stage in the effort to educate the public. Data has been used as a means of warning, informing, and educating. To be sure, this is important work; but in reporting the pandemic data, we also need to reinforce the humanity of the data. These positive cases are entire lives uprooted. With rapidly evolving aggregated datasets such as case counts, deaths, hotspots, and hospitalizations, it can be easy to forget these stories and focus instead on precision.
This disconnect goes beyond the emotional; it also hinders our ability to persuade others. The human brain is a meaning-making machine. We respond to stories in a more visceral way than to raw numbers and data. In fact, psychologist Jerome Bruner argued that humans are 22 times more likely to remember a fact when presented in its “storied form”.
If this is the case, it should dramatically change the way we think about visualizing this type of data. To be truly impactful in the fight against COVID-19 misinformation, data visualization experts need to think beyond giving the facts. We need the stats, but we also need the stories.
