[vharuck]

In my experience of reporting data to non-data-saavy people, I've learned people love maps. Maybe because they like finding their home state/county/city. For whatever reason, they love maps.

I've also learned the hardest part of my job is getting people to read and remember the data. Replacing their preconceived notions is difficult. I'll use any cheap trick (short of showing data inaccurately) to do this. So I make them the maps they love. I use the colors they expect. If I show tables, they're used by experts for further analysis and ignored by the people who actually make decisions.

>The saturated red and blue colors have an almost astrological meaning to people, it's got nothing to do with information.

That meaning is information. Is it the best thing for a nuanced data graphic? No. But showing a nuanced graphic is like handing somebody Principia Marhematica when they ask what 1 + 1 is. Sure, it had the answer. And sure, it's great for people with mathematical skill. But it's overkill most of the time.