ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates how large datasets containing many thousands of observations can be represented in simple, clever and accessible ways using visualisation techniques. Maps are among the oldest and most elegant means devised to convey a wealth of information in a single picture. One of the key differences between visual art and science centres on the issues of interpretation and subjectivity – a work of art is inherently personal, subjective and open to different interpretations on the part of the viewer. The Nobel Prize-winning scientist, bongo player and amateur artist Richard Feynman utilised a means of visualisation to better explain the nature of how subatomic particles interact. Alexander von Humboldt’s metaphor of a web to describe the connectedness of nature would greatly influence Charles Darwin, who later chose another natural form, a tree, to encapsulate his views on the origins of species.
