Fuzzy Charting

Here's an interesting slant. Pic taken in tricky surrounds from a newspaper print edition. Hopefully the message still visible.

When a chart raises questions, it can be a useful exercise.

With this assessment, you ask such as, 'why is the top country so ahead?' It's not America, hey. With China nowhere to be seen either. Look at plucky Third spot too. And if this is the Top 5 nations to startup in, then just how bad must the rest of the 113 be?

Before thinking on what make this quintet so potentially attractive.

Yet then...

That's quite a cool device, the fading-left colouring of that verdant green. But wait a mo'.

That visual shading between top and second feels strange. On measuring, the bars 4.5 to 10 is actually shown more like 6 to 10. An error band of one-third. At least as confusing, the '1' of the UK actually occupies around 3.5 of the bar width. Even worse a difference.

The fact that the fading left-edges don't align is also muddying.

Problems stem from the 'index' rating sitting inside for top, outside the rest. And also from each bar's label.

No matter what shorthand system you'd use, would everyone recognise the country from the abbreviation? Would Lith. and Switz. have been acceptable?

Likewise a symbol such as national flag. Matching all but one of the flags wouldn't be good enough (poor Baltics).

Beyond the representation, there's also the data.

What on earth makes somewhere a '10', yet almost everyone else barely and below a '1'? Quite the mind boggle. On the page this stood alone. Boxed in with no context at all.

Fuzzy charting is not the same as fuzzy logic. Noting the famed wisdom that is the decision maker's, and so seller's, friend;

"It is better to be vaguely right than exactly wrong".

Whilst we may be after a bit more than partial truths, we need our audience to form concrete opinions, aims and actions. This type of chart could get you nearer there, but needs refinement.