Gapminder Video Reviews
Below are two videos I viewed on Gapminder, followed by a brief review of both videos.
Swine Flu Alert!
In this video, Hans Rosling uses Gapminder to illustrate the number of deaths reported by the news media from Swine Flu during thirteen days in 2009, compared to the number of deaths from Tuberculosis during the same time frame. Rosling uses Gapminder to plot bubbles on the locations of news-reported deaths from both Swine Flu and TB on a World Map. Then, over the course of the thirteen days he is measuring, the bubbles increase in size for every new reported death from either Swine Flu or TB. What he is trying to illustrate is that during those thirteen days in 2009, the number of deaths caused by Tuberculosis far outnumbered the number of deaths caused by the Swine Flu during the same time. He then shows the ratio of Swine Flu death new reports to that of TB death reports. Using these ratios, he illustrates that the cases of Swine Flu were largely over-reported by the news, while cases of Tuberculosis were largely under-reported. He concludes by issuing an “alert” about the media hype surrounding these reports.
I found this Gapminder video interesting, primarily because of the software’s capability to plot change over time. In Excel, for instance, we are only able to see growth over time on a static chart or graph. In Gapminder, it looks as though you can enter data over a period of time and have it represented visually. That is, instead of just viewing data in rows and columns, Gapminder allows you to use graphics, like the world map, to show relative data. In addition, the ability to animate the change that occurs within the data is also very revolutionary, in my opinion. Gapminder seems to completely change the way we think about spreadsheets and databases.
I found this Gapminder video interesting, primarily because of the software’s capability to plot change over time. In Excel, for instance, we are only able to see growth over time on a static chart or graph. In Gapminder, it looks as though you can enter data over a period of time and have it represented visually. That is, instead of just viewing data in rows and columns, Gapminder allows you to use graphics, like the world map, to show relative data. In addition, the ability to animate the change that occurs within the data is also very revolutionary, in my opinion. Gapminder seems to completely change the way we think about spreadsheets and databases.
200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes
In this video, Hans Rosling uses Gapminder to illustrate the average life expectancy in relation to the average income for the populations of 200 countries, over the course of 200 years, all in four minutes. Rosling begins by showing where all of these countries fell on the life expectancy/income table in 1810. He shows how each of the different world regions are represented by different color bubbles, while the size of the population is represented by the size of the bubble. He shows that, in 1810, many countries had similar life expediencies and were earning roughly the same amount of income. Rosling then sets the Gapminder graph in motion, showing progression of countries in terms of life expectancy and income. He points out how Gapminder illustrates countries suddenly falling behind around the time of the first World War, Spanish Flu epidemic, World War II, and other major world events. Once his illustrations turn to the 1970s, we begin to see the Asian countries move from the sick and poor end of the graph, to the healthy and wealthy area. Once Rosling’s illustration progresses through the 200 years, he shows how Gapminder can be used to illustrate the upward trend of country progression over the last 200 years. In addition, he shows how the bubble representing the population of China can be split into the smaller provinces and placed in the progression illustration with other countries.
I thought this video was truly amazing in that Gapminder is able to illustrate several proportions over the course of hundreds of years. Even more amazing is that Gapminder can show these massive amounts of change in data in a time lapse sort of way. The way Rosling has set up Gapminder is so intuitive, because it offers an simple statistical overview; when, in reality, there are massive numbers on the back end making the animation work.
I thought this video was truly amazing in that Gapminder is able to illustrate several proportions over the course of hundreds of years. Even more amazing is that Gapminder can show these massive amounts of change in data in a time lapse sort of way. The way Rosling has set up Gapminder is so intuitive, because it offers an simple statistical overview; when, in reality, there are massive numbers on the back end making the animation work.