Comment by danso
11 years ago
I'm a huge fan of Tufte, but even he would probably concede that quite a bit of text is needed to explain the nuances and details of the Minard graphic. I mean, hell, I sat through one of his day-long seminars and the part about Minard was not short.
In any case, the OP wouldn't disagree with you...there are things for which imagery beats text (notably, maps)...but otherwise, use text. And still, you can get pretty far with just a textual description. And even for imagery, text is still an essential component for conveying information...Try going through a gallery of World Press Photo winners without reading any of the captions, for example.
> there are things for which imagery beats text (notably, maps)
You are at the southern edge of a great cavern. To the south across a shallow ford is a dark tunnel which looks like it was once enlarged and smoothed. To the north a narrow path winds among stalagmites. Dim light illuminates the cavern.
> go south
You have moved into a dark place. It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
Even here graphics can help. You're probably familiar with this: http://almy.us/image/dungeon.jpg Drawing maps - visualizing what is conveyed in text in other ways in general - can be rewarding and useful.