tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232587951592761390.post6053356535808684362..comments2023-10-24T06:09:31.378-05:00Comments on EconWeekly: On college endowmentsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232587951592761390.post-45914772311185626762008-02-02T11:39:00.000-06:002008-02-02T11:39:00.000-06:00Dear Francisco,Yes, I did come back, partly to poi...Dear Francisco,<BR/>Yes, I did come back, partly to point out that the better newspapers and magazines do not use 3D graphs for this purpose. Check out the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal or the New York Times (eg, the graph linked from their latest labor force story http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/business/02econ.html?ref=business).<BR/>Check out any of the central bank publications.<BR/><BR/>3D graphs look "fancy" (I guess that's what you mean by "sleek") but they serve only to obscure information.<BR/><BR/>By the way, I agree that explaining something to someone else is the best way to refine one's own understanding. So best of luck with it.<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/>That anonymous economist again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232587951592761390.post-7779206217095441422008-02-01T14:32:00.000-06:002008-02-01T14:32:00.000-06:00Dear anonymous commenter:Thanks a lot for your con...Dear anonymous commenter:<BR/><BR/>Thanks a lot for your constructive criticism of my graphs. It is true that in grad school they don't teach these things.<BR/><BR/>The purpose of this blog is, as you say, to sharpen my writing skills. Other purposes are: to raise my profile, and to force me to think about and understand economic issues regularly, as opposed to simply read about them. I strongly believe that you don't understand something until you try to explain it to somebody else.<BR/><BR/>I'll have a look at Tufte's work and learn why I shouldn't use 3D graphs. The only reason I'm doing it is that they look more sleek (I guess that's why newspapers and magazines use them).<BR/><BR/>Thanks for the comment, and come back to EconWeekly.<BR/><BR/>FranciscoFranciscohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07037104984110610259noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2232587951592761390.post-40965032696220601822008-02-01T01:28:00.000-06:002008-02-01T01:28:00.000-06:00Dear Francisco,Since you are in the home stretch o...Dear Francisco,<BR/>Since you are in the home stretch of your PhD (as your profile says), I guess you must be using this blog to sharpen your writing and reporting skills, perhaps before taking a job in the private sector. <BR/><BR/>So let me give you a tip: don't use 3D graphs. Especially don't use them when there is no third dimension to show.<BR/><BR/>Have a look at the books by this man<BR/>http://www.edwardtufte.com/tufte/<BR/>Or the graphs produced by, say, the central banks of larger countries. You will not see fake third dimensions in their graphs. Grad school doesn't teach you how to draw the right graph for the purpose, but it is an important skill to learn.<BR/><BR/>Best regards,<BR/>Anonymous economist nearly 20 years' experience in policy institutions, who has read Tufte.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com