[moneydance] Graphing Awesomeness

[Albert Dul]

On Jan 5, 2007, at 7:30 AM, Ric Werme wrote:

> Edward Reid wrote:
>> At 21:32 01/03/07 -0700, Hans Derycke wrote:
>>> - the y-axis of graphs is now shifted to a value closer to the  
>>> lowest
>>> y-value, instead of being stuck at zero.
>>
>> Those with some experience in statistics and presentation consider  
>> this a
>> Very Bad Idea, because it emphasizes changes which are of little
>> significance. Without even having looked at it, this comment leads  
>> me to
>> assign ten demerits to the new graphs.
>
> I completely understand your stance, but prefer the "cropped" display.
> I also prefer a logarithmic scale on the Y axis for some graphs, and
> those don't have a $0 level.  However, that's another story.
>
>>> For instance, if your net
>>> worth graph varies between 1,000,000 and 1,020,000, you'll see every
>>> painful nuance of that variation, instead of a largely blank screen
>>> with a wiggle at the top
>>
>> But in this example, the variation is +/- 1%. In fact that IS just  
>> a wiggle
>> at the top of a largely unchanged situation. Making that +/-1%  
>> variation
>> look like an earthquake is bad presentation.
>
> http://www.edwardtufte.com argues that graphs should have a maximum  
> slope
> of about +/- 45 degrees.  Just a guideline, and I'm sure one he'd  
> derate for
> financial data, but flat lines and earthquakes both hide information
> from the skilled reader and hence may be poor presentations.
>

How about having the data fill something like 50-75% of the y range  
to reduce the bumps but not to flatlines. Get Ymax - Ymin, multiply  
by 1.5 or 2 and use that to pad the Y range. Put something like 60%  
of the extra space below the data and ~40% of the extra space above  
the data to place it a bit above center. Tweaking the padding a bit  
can result in a good compromise.

Al

> 	-Ric Werme