Graphical guide to graphics
A great post at creating passionate users. The point - user manuals are REALLY important.
Bottom line: never underestimate the value of providing fabulous training materials in getting--and keeping--users motivated to get better. And the better they are, the more likely they are to appreciate (and buy) your higher-end versions, evangelize, buy and create accessories, etc.I really like head first books. Based on getting you to learn the way your brain wants to, I think their method is fantastic. But could these principles can be applied to science too?.
Reading scientific literature takes a lot of effort. Sitting still and focusing on what the author wants you to understand, requires energy and concentration. What if the principles of the head-first learning series were applied? The stuff in science books and papers is, after all, some of the most difficult material you're likely to read. We would benefit if this material was communicated in a way that would help us learn best.
"That's easy for you to say, but how do we do it?" I hear you say. Well, I put my money where my mouth is. I created a short guide to making graphs in R, using what I hope is an effective method of communicating a difficult topic.
You can download the pdf of this guide here.
