These days , infographics are often passed around the web as a direction of explaining concepts visually . Sometimes they ’re used for marketing , and sometimes theyoversimplify complex topics … but the near infographics transform the room we make sentience of the world . optic thinking is a muscular tool .
In 1812 , Napoleon ’s Grande Arméeinvaded Russia . The effect was dreaded for both English , as the Russians employed scorched - solid ground tactics ( burning their own settlement and farms to prevent the French from accept them ) and the massive invasion military unit pushed further and further into Russia , eventually occupying an evacuated Moscow . Finally the French - led Grande Armée was draw to pull back , lack supplies to cope with the Russian winter , and the loss of life was catastrophic . That loss was partly due to military battle , but also because of starving and privation in the face of viciously cold weather .
It ’s one matter to severalise that story with words . But it ’s another to narrate it with a moving picture , show the size of it of the Grande Armée as it proceeded through a serial of movement into Russia , and finally back away , returning to its start position with a decimated force-out . In 1862 , Charles Joseph Minard created a sort of map - slash - chart ( read : " infographic " ) depicting these events , with a centering on casualties , progress through various fix / conflict / river , and a correlation with the temperature at various decimal point along the way . It ’s a fantastic room to make sense of issue in a optic way , and you may walk your way through major events in the military campaign plainly by examine a picture . In this picture , Dr. James Grime explains Minard ’s infographic , making a shell for why it ’s such a potent way to empathise this tale . Enjoy :
For a in high spirits - resolving interlingual rendition of Minard ’s infographic , hold back out Wikipedia(click the pocket-size version to get a super - enceinte one desirable for printing process ) . The same map is also availablefrom Edward Tufte(who is himself a great visual explainer , and a terrific loudspeaker ) as a bill poster . ( I ’m jolly certain the poster shown in the picture is one of Tufte ’s . I have the same one . )
