From the catalog:

This seminar will look at common ways in which statistics and infographics can be used to misrepresent and mislead viewers. In addition to reading the classic book "How to Lie with Statistics", we will scour current media for examples and learn how to generate our own information visualizations with the beginners computer programming language, Processing.

Instructors:

Instructor:Professor Don Patterson
Lecture: W: 4:00 - 4:50
Classroom: DBH 5011
Discussion Section: N/A
Email: djp3@ics.uci.edu
Office Hours: TBD
Mailing List: Patterson-UNISTU3-F12@classes.uci.edu

Teaching Assistant: N/A
Email:
Office Hours:

Books:

The required books for this class are:

The Visual Display of Quantitative Information

How to Lie with Statistics

Components:

Class Attendance / Participation (1 dropped)	40%
Infographics Analysis	30%
Processing Labs	30%

As the class progresses I may find it necessary to alter the percentages.

General Philosophy:

I prefer to give many small assignments which build up a picture of overall student learning success rather than to rely on one or two large exams which students may bomb based on non-learning related complications.

At the end of the day, learning is the responsibility of the student. I consider myself someone who points students in the right direction and can/will explain the fundamentals of a subject matter. I can't actually do the work of learning for a student. That takes effort and self-initiative. I will help to provide structure and motivation for that learning, but you also need to learn how to expand on this subject yourself. In a technical field like this, you will be left behind the field in about six months, regardless of how well I present the subject matter, if you can't keep learning on your own.

I like to stop talking periodically and let students ask questions.

Class Attendance:

Class attendance will be determined by completing index cards. The index cards are also a means for me to get feedback about the course.

For each class please write your name on a card, the date, your student ID and a comment about the course.

If you would like to submit an anonymous comment, take an extra card and don't put your name on it.

Computer Use:

I'd appreciate it if you would keep laptops, iPads, etc closed during class. I find it difficult to teach when people are being mentally jerked out of the classroom by email, Facebook etc.

There are some legitimate reasons to have a computer operating during class, such as note-taking. In order to try and discipline yourself if you are one of these people, try turning off networking while you are taking notes.