At first sight this comic by computer scientist Matt Hong looks like one of Randall Munroe’s more elaborate xkcd gags, but it is something completely new.
This is a comic that tells a simple story, while at the same time providing the reader with actual insights on statistical data, in this case the distribution of activities along a typical American day.
To be honest, it took me a moment to grasp the meaning of the darkened frames, but it is really quite brilliant, poetic even. The graph device allows Hong to tell a fairly mundane story, essentially how an average American spends his day, while immersing it in context and suggesting a whole world around the anecdotal.
I was awestruck by this small gem. It was good enough to awaken the forever hybernating beast that is this blog.
