We live in an uncertain world. From extreme weather hazards to pandemic events, forecasters present uncertainty to us daily. Unfortunately, uncertainty is challenging for the general public and trained experts to understand, which is why effectively conveying uncertainty in scientific findings is critical. Visualizations afford thinking with such complex data, as they capitalize on the visual system's highly advanced pattern recognition system to process vast data sets simultaneously. This efficient processing is in stark contrast to the limitations of sequential reading required by sets of symbolic numbers. This talk will discuss state-of-the-art uncertainty visualization techniques and the cognitive processes that can lead to misunderstandings of forecasts with uncertainty. We will discuss best practices in information visualization to support communicators' awareness of how visualization choices influence their audience's understanding of data, supporting accessible and ethical decisions about conveying future projections.
Posted by: Deb Zemek