Visualizing evidence & presenting evidence

Armed with simple spyglass Galileo relentlessly studied the heavens, eventually discovering a magnificent truth: the Universe didn't revolve around the Earth.  But then he found out that discovering a difficult truth is not as hard as explaining it to those who didn't discover that truth for themselves.   Trial lawyers can relate to this problem.

Today's courtroom veterans have at their command many sophisticated tools, but the problem is not one of tools. The problem is technique. And for those interested in learning how to present visual evidence, I highly recommend Edward Tuffte's Beautiful Evidence.  He explains his objective clearly in the Introduction.

"Science and art have in common intense seeing, the wide-eyed observing that generates empirical information.  Beautiful Evidence is about how seeing turns into showing, how empirical observations turn into explanations and evidence."  This is an outstanding book, a treasure trove of practical ideas on how to improve your visual presentations.  No one should be allowed to use Powerpoint without having read this book first. 

If he were still alive, Galileo would certainly recommend it.