Four Data Sets:

Simple Statistical Summary of Each Data Set is Identical.

Visually Totally Different.

edit: fixed url - thanks @eddmc

Interesting stuff!

I think they're a great communication tool between the technical people and everyone else, and it creates a simpler dialog. "Why is there such a big drop in the graph here" "Well, our traffic was lower because..."

I think it's also an emotional/psychological thing. Business people like to see upwards trends! It makes them more confident in the business.

etc. I'm sure there are far more qualified people to answer this.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Visual-Display-Quantitative-Informat...

I'd say, yes numerical is often just as good, but not always. Also, in my opinion, whether information is displayed numerically or visually, the key is to be as minimalistic as possible.

[1]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0497116/

Edit: where's that Markdown standard spec...

It seems like a lot of engineering type folks just won't accept that most people would rather look at a colorful picture than a list of percentages. If you gave me a choice between looking at a fancy graph that took up more space and showed less data and a list of numbers, I'll take the graph every time. Because I'm a human, and humans get bored easily, and humans appreciate art and color.

Don't downplay the importance of eye candy. People like eye candy, just like they like mouth candy. Sure, eating raw sugar is rationally stupid especially when there are many more logical, healthy choices out there. But sometimes you just want to taste something really really sweet; sometimes you really would just rather look at something really pretty.