[chefandy]

Even then, it's pretty ridiculous to say that this is a valid argument against using pie charts. It's a valid argument against using them when you've got multiple similarly sized slices, or some other thing that would make them the wrong choice, but there are great reasons to not use most visualizations in incompatible contexts. Just like anything else in graphic design, these things should be used when they are better at conveying a point than other methods and not used when they aren't. Coming up with rules like this is like saying "never use garlic" and then coming up with every dish from chocolate pudding to iced tea that's not made better with garlic. Use the right tool for the job. It's design "rules" like this that will inspire some insecure "Ha! Gotcha! So-called expert!" type of nerd rant from a developer in a meeting where I'm presenting work I've done as a designer.

[PheonixPharts]

Can you give me a single example where a pie chart would better convey information than a table?

The only visualization more useless than a pie-chart is a 3d pie-chart.

[_dain_]

>Can you give me a single example where a pie chart would better convey information than a table?

there's a specific type of pie chart that's good: a "clock chart".

this is when you're depicting how long some contiguous sequence of events took as a fraction of a whole duration. you map the start and end to the 12 o'clock position, and the intervening ones wrap around clockwise.

e.g. the history of the universe with the big bang at the top, then formation of stars, galaxies, planet earth, dinoaurs etc as you go around clockwise. then human history is a tiny slice at like 30 seconds to midnight or whatever it is.

this works because it piggybacks on people's existing strong spatio-temporal intuition for clock faces. time is a flat circle.

[PheonixPharts]

I'll concede that this is a reasonable case.

[chefandy]

See my response to your comment above. You're ignoring the reason data visualizations exist in the first place.

[PheonixPharts]

> You're ignoring the reason data visualizations exist in the first place.

My opinion on pie-charts and poor visualization comes from years of studying data visualization, not ignoring it. Would you argue that Tufte doesn't value data visualization since he holds the same views?

[chefandy]

Tufte can back up what he says with reason and examples, rather than repeatedly making the same assertion. Just saying "well Tufte says so" is a pretty blatant appeal to authority.

[_dain_]

pie charts really are inferior in practically every context though.