148 | Cognitive Science for Data Visualization with Lace Padilla

Data Stories

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In this episode we have Lace Padilla on the show to talk about how cognitive science can help create better visualizations. Lace is a newly appointed Assistant Professor at Cognitive UC Merced, where she directs the SPACE Lab.

Lace’s expertise is cognitive science, and she has published numerous papers that look at data visualization under the lens of a cognitive scientist. Believe it or not this is not so common so Lace’s work is very welcome.

On the show we talk about the role of cognitive science in visualization, what cognitive models are and how they can be used for visualization design and evaluation, decision-making supported by visualization and visualization as a way to analyze and communicate weather data.

Links:

• Lace Padilla
• SPACE Lab: Spatial Perception, Applied Cognition & Education Lab at UC Merced
• Overview of SPACE Lab research projects

http://datastori.es/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/148_LacePad_Video.mp4

Chapters

1. Welcome to Data Stories! (00:00:29)

2. Our podcast is listener-supported, please consider making a contribution! (00:01:29)

https://www.patreon.com/datastories

3. Our guest today: Cognitive scientist Lace Padilla (00:02:02)

https://www.lacepadilla.com/

4. So what is cognitive science? And what can we learn from it for visualisation? (00:03:31)

5. Testing tiny details: How do you figure out what's happening on a neuronal level? (00:09:43)

6. Reverse engineering: Judging visualisations along the decisions they inform (00:12:14)

7. Dealing with probability: Visualising desaster forecasts (00:22:01)

8. Connecting cognitive science and vis: Where do we go from here? (00:40:19)

9. Get in touch with us and support us on Patreon (00:44:54)

https://www.patreon.com/datastories