Throughout my life, when it came to math, graphs were easy to me. Every time I took a test, I would hope that there would be an example of a graph to help me solve the question.
Graphs can also harm us when it comes to math and concluding facts. Graphs may have information that is easy to access, but depending on the reader, sometimes people can get confused or perceive different type of graphs in different ways.
No matter the reason, graphs are always there to help us in many ways. It is up to us to learn and use them the right and correct way. When it comes to graphs, we need to make sure that we understand them and that we can use them to help us rather than not helping us and making us have the wrong idea of what is to be learned.
You're right about the visual impact of a graph. I like the way it can show comparisons more clearly than words. And, I get drawn into what they seem to show. It difficult to sit back and really look at the details. Is what they show a real depiction of what they found?
ReplyDeleteTo make it worse, the person designing the graph may not mean to mislead you. Even if he or she is only trying to make things clear, they can lead to the wrong conclusion.
But graphs are a quick way to communicate complex information. They can make a point quickly and easily that otherwise might be argued.