Data visualisation is nothing new

With all the buzz and hype surrounding data visualisation these days, you'd be forgiven for thinking that data visualisation was a recent development in the data landscape. Surely 'data viz' (as it is affectionately known by data-geeks worldwide!) is the brainchild of our collective 21st century genius? I'm afraid not!

Data visualisation has been around since the 1600s, with some of the earliest known examples being Galileo’s sunspot drawings (1612, Mendeleev's Periodic Table (1859), and Darwin's Tree of Life, published in 1859. These examples are exceptional demonstrations of the power of data visualisation to simplify and communicate extremely complex subject matter - but my favourite is Dr John Snow’s cholera map (1854).

In the mid 1850s, in the height of London's cholera epidemic, Dr Snow had the wisdom and the foresight to map each known instance of cholera related death against London's geographic landscape to prove his theory that cholera was a waterborne disease. This genius example of data visualisation led to the discovery cholera was indeed a waterborne disease and that a particular water pump - the Broad Street water pump - was a key factor in the spread of cholera during the 3rd outbreak. Snow's findings would ultimately lead to the removal of the offending pump's handle which would, in tern, quell the spread of the disease.

Dr Snow's cholera map surfaced an undeniable relationship between water pump proximity and clusters of fatalities - with the largest cluster of fatalities being squarely located around the Broad Street water pump. Sure, there had been many maps drawn to plot the instances of death and I'm guessing there were quite a few geographic maps identifying streets and places of interest at the time, but it was Snow's moment of brilliance that ultimately led to the end of this cholera spread.

I've seen all too many organisations get swept away on an endless quest to incorporate all the latest bells and whistles in their data viz adventures. It's too easy to lose sight of the story we're trying to tell when we are constantly blinded by shiny tricks and toys. So let's all take a step back; let's get back to the story we're trying to tell. Let's uncover our own Broad Street and continue in Dr Snow's footsteps - using data viz for the purposes of insight and analysis, not just because we can.