#  The Art of Visualization 

 



[   ![Preview of text from "The Art of Visualization" presentation](/sites/g/files/omnuum6291/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/2026-05/The%20Art%20of%20Visualization%20Thumbnail.png?itok=cyl95O5m) 

 ](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OK-inwNSJe8g7AWgCEE_kkj1Pjy9IeHmzHUqetDbY3I/edit?usp=sharing)**Presentation Date:** Wednesday, May 20, 2026  
**Location:** Online for the [Eleventh Parker Heliophysics Scholars Meeting](https://psp-gateway.jhuapl.edu/website/HeliophysicsScholars/)

In this talk, I’ll discuss the value and practice of data visualization. The best visualizations are **clear** and **deep** at the same time—and in today’s world, often interactive as well. I’ll focus especially on the enduring importance of what the great statistician John Tukey called “Exploratory Data Analysis” (**EDA**) fifty years ago, and how—even in an era of **AI** assistants that can generate beautiful, highly functional **online graphics**—Tukey’s original principles remain central.

In much the same way that artists recognize AI can follow instructions but not (yet!) generate fully independent creative inspiration, data visualization still relies—like art—more on **human curiosity** than on technology. I’ll place our current moment in context—where so many **tools can now be interconnected** to create nearly any visualization imaginable—within the broader history of data visualization, essentially explaining “how we got to now.” I’ll conclude with a perspective on what comes next.

Relevant links to software I’ll showcase include: [glueviz.org](http://glueviz.org/), [worldwidetelescope.org](http://worldwidetelescope.org/), and [LIVE-env.org.](http://live-env.org)

[Access the presentation handout on Google Docs](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OK-inwNSJe8g7AWgCEE_kkj1Pjy9IeHmzHUqetDbY3I/edit?usp=sharing).



 



 

 See also:- [ Data Science ](/talk-types/data-science)
- [ Visualization ](/talk-types/scientific-visualization)
- [ Talks ](/page-categories/talks)
- [ 2026 ](/talk-year/2026)