Home / Brinton, Willard C. Graphic Methods for Presenting Facts. New York: The Engineering Magazine Company, 1914. Internet Archive identifier: cu31924032626792 (Cornell University Library copy). The first American textbook on what we now call data visualization. / Passage

Graphic Methods for Presenting Facts

Brinton, Willard C. Graphic Methods for Presenting Facts. New York: The Engineering Magazine Company, 1914. Internet Archive identifier: cu31924032626792 (Cornell University Library copy). The first American textbook on what we now call data visualization. 314 words

In the latter half of the fiscal year, sales increased so rapidly that men had to be hired in large numbers. Inevitably, therefore, many unskilled men were obtained who were sure to spoil a large volume of any output requiring the great accuracy needed by automobile parts. The record for the fiscal year ending 1911 was in every way bad, as compared with that for the fiscal year 1910. The company eventually ended in a receivership.

Cards only four inches by six are of sufficient height to hold the co-ordinate ruling needed for curve plotting, and yet have room above the ruled field for two separate columns of figures of seven digits each, as well as space across the top for a title which may run the whole length of the card. In Fig. 208 we have two sets of figures, one set for months and the other set for quarters. Each set of figvires contains six numerals. Although the illustration in Fig. 208 is only about one half the natural size of the card, the figures themselves are clearly legible and the title at the top of the card is easily read.

One of the chief advantages in the use of loose cards lies in the fact that any set of cards may be laid out on a table and compared with any other set of cards in the manner shown in Fig. 209. It is

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difficult with a loose-leaf book to arrange a system for keeping hundreds of curves in such a way that quick comparisons between any of them can be made. When loose cards are used any card can be compared with any other card instantly, and, if desired, cards for any curve for a series of years may be laid out for comparison with cards for any other curve for any series of years.