Outrun Change

We need to learn quickly to keep up with the massive change around us so we don't get run over. We need to outrun change.

Archive for the category “Creative visualizations”

26 Feb 2013

Quantitative Easing and other performance enhancing drugs

There was a big on-air confessional a while back. Something about bicycles.  Here’s another interview that got overshadowed by that big one. Or perhaps it is an educational cartoon. I’m not sure.

Bernanke to Oprah:  ‘I’ve Been Doping for Years’.

This cartoon gives a superb explanation in 12 minutes of a major factor about how we got into our current economic mess.

The format is an imaginary interview with the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, Ben Bernanke, as he confesses to long-term doping of the economy.

Read more…

Posted in Creative visualizations, Economics and tagged | Leave a Comment
06 Feb 2013

Value and satisfaction are defined by the consumer

Here is the first entry in the current year Economics Music Video Contest from Fayetteville State University.

Big books shows value is determined by the consumer.

Do you want to make a fortune? Figure out what consumers want and provide it.

Check this out:

link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLjiT5tt-WVpqPX1roEXtp8kttcHYVEv4g&feature=player_embedded&v=aAHR8NEpnP8

A couple of fun lines: Read more…

Posted in Creative visualizations, Economics | Leave a Comment
01 Feb 2013

Rap to explain “Demand meets supply at the equilibrium price”

That quote in the title of this post is one of the great lines from the winning video in the Fayetteville State University video competition last year. The topic was supply and demand.

The video is “Whatever You Like” from a team of students at Fayetteville State University.

Check this out:

Read more…

Posted in Creative visualizations, Other stuff | Leave a Comment
14 Dec 2012

Timelapse view of drilling a well

Very cool video from Marathon Oil. Their description:

This timelapse video shows the drilling and fracking of a typical Marathon Oil well in the Eagle Ford, Texas. It was captured in the summer of 2012.

link if needed:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6_j7UkuzJTU#t=47s

Hat tip – Carpe Diem

Posted in Creative visualizations, Energy and tagged , | Leave a Comment
06 Dec 2012

“Deck the Halls with Macro Follies” – Economists sing your favorite holiday carols

(cross-post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)

Remember the rapping economists we saw here and here?  They’re back!

Just in time for Christmas, EconStories imagines their fantasy Christmas album featuring the classic hits from Keynes, Hayek, and other renown singers you know and love.

Enjoy the greatest collection of economic hits ever aggregated.

Read more…

Posted in Creative visualizations, Economics | Leave a Comment
04 Jun 2012

What critical information do the anti-fracking illustrations leave out?

Check out the previous illustrations of fracking I’ve mentioned here and here.

Then go search for illustrations that are critical of fracking. Ask yourself what critical information is missing.

I was going to link to specific examples, but there are so many it is hard to choose. Also, pointing out flagrant omissions and clever distortions from people’s videos tends to get them irritated.  I’m not interested in a flame war.

There seem to be two common problems.

Read more…

Posted in Creative visualizations, Energy and tagged | Leave a Comment
29 May 2012
1 Comment

More illustrations of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Previous posts show superb illustrations of fracking here and here.   I browsed the ‘net and found a few more illustrations that are good:

Here is an illustration of the fracking process. Notice that the ground water is usually 100’ to 500’ below the surface. The horizontal run is usually 1 or 1.5 miles down. There’s  thousands of feet of hard granite that isolates the ground water at 500’. Notice the mile of rock in the illustration between the fracking level and ground water.

Read more…

Posted in Creative visualizations, Energy and tagged ,
03 Apr 2012
1 Comment

This is what progress look like – 1 electronic gadget in 2010 does the work of 14 electronic gadgets in 1980

(cross-post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)

Check out these two pictures showing 1980 and 2010 electronics tools:  Worth a thousand words.

One tool in 2010 does the work of 14 (by my count) in 1980.  Can you begin to guess the cost reduction, even without discounting for inflation?  How about the weight reduction or portability increase?

From Café Hayek, of course. This is the type of thing I talk about at my other blog, Outrun Change.

Posted in Change around us, Creative visualizations and tagged ,
27 Mar 2012
1 Comment

Animated explanation of hydraulic fracturing

Curious how a fracking well is drilled?

I’ve been wondering about a few things.  Like how to drill horizontally, how to break open the dense rock, and how to prevent leakage.

Superb animated video from Voyager Oil & Gas answers a lot of my questions:

Read more…

Posted in Creative visualizations, Economics, Energy and tagged , ,
24 Mar 2012

Creative Visualization – mapping the growth of retail stores

(cross-post from my other blog, Nonprofit Update.)

Check out these time-lapsed maps showing the growth of a retail chain from Flowing Data.  Great visualization of the speed and location of new stores.  Also shows the diffusion across the country.

Lets you see the data of Walmart from 1 store in 1962 to 4,393 in 2010.

Check out these visuals:

Read more…

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27 Feb 2012
2 Comments

Here’s what falling off a cliff looks like – inflation adjusted newspaper ad revenue

As usual, Dr. Mark Perry has the best graphs.

In Newspaper Ad Revenues Fall to 60-Yr. Low in 2011, he graphs advertising revenue for newspapers on an inflation adjusted basis from 1950 through 2010 (actual) with projection for 2011 through third quarter.

Wow.  So that is what it looks like for an entire industry to fall off a cliff.

Read more…

Posted in Change around us, Creative visualizations
13 Aug 2011

A field trip from August 2011 to August 1981 and back

John Bredehoft has a creative two-part post comparing technology in 2011 and 1981. Focus is on the change in portability – the ease of getting news anywhere and being able to reach someone anywhere.

What if modern portability existed, or didn’t exist, 30 years ago?

More on changes in portability

Communication then:

Read more…

Posted in Creative visualizations | Leave a Comment
07 Apr 2011

Creative visualization – astounding use of a map to show statistical data

(cross-post from Attestation Update)

A graph of Napoleon’s invasion of Russia shows the devastating losses suffered during the advance on Moscow and retreat.  It is the best illustration I’ve seen of creatively presenting a complex body of information.  Dare I say it is a beautiful graph?  Why is this of interest to us?  It shows a powerful way to communicate statistical data.

You can see the graph here at Cartographia.  Click on the map to enlarge.

One sentence of explanation allows you to interpret the entire view – Read more…

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02 Apr 2011

Creative visualizations-military history illustration

(cross-post from Attestation Update)

I’ve been interested lately in creative ways to show data.  We accountants are great at absorbing a lot of numbers and finding the patterns.  Other people who don’t have our mind-set can not see what we see.  We need to find new ways to explain things.

How would you summarize the location and intensity of wars over the last several centuries?  One of my favorite historians would do that verbally over the course of a full-length book or a dozen columns.  (And I’d love every word of it too!)

Jordi Colomer has done so in a 5 minute video:

Read more…

Posted in Creative visualizations | Leave a Comment

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