--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes the data has a sense of a…" description: "\"Sometimes the data has a sense of a structure within it, especially if I'm looking at networks or relationships, which generally lend themselves to a c..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/david-mccandless-19293_data_sometimes-the-data-has-a-sense-of-a-stru_1285732.jpg" --- # Sometimes the data has a sense of a structure within it… ![“Sometimes the data has a sense of a structure within it, especially if I'm looking at networks or relationships, which generally lend themselves to a certain style.” quote by David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/david-mccandless-19293_data_sometimes-the-data-has-a-sense-of-a-stru_1285732.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/david-mccandless-19293_data_sometimes-the-data-has-a-sense-of-a-stru_1285732.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/david-mccandless-19293_data_sometimes-the-data-has-a-sense-of-a-stru_1285732.jpg) > “Sometimes the data has a sense of a structure within it, especially if I'm looking at networks or relationships, which generally lend themselves to a certain style.” [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Data often reveal hidden structures, especially in networks, guiding stylistic choices. **In simple terms:** Data can show hidden patterns, especially in networks. Key Takeaway Look for underlying patterns before deciding style. Themes analysis network theory pattern recognition Mood curious analytical Type observational insightful When to use this quote - research - data visualization - network design - academic study - business intelligence Key Concepts complex systems graph theory Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify a pattern's relevance? - What biases affect your network analysis? A Different Perspective Patterns may be misinterpreted without proper context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Data](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) ## Related quotes > [Information is money, but data is squat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-llama-butler/information-is-money-but-data-is-squat/) Angela Llama-Butler > [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [An important finding is that by determining the genome sequences of an entire family, one can identify many DNA sequencing errors and thus greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/an-important-finding-is-that-by-determining-the-genome-sequences-of/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [Finding patterns is easy in any kind of data-rich environment; that's what mediocre gamblers do. The key is in determining whether the patterns represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/finding-patterns-is-easy-in-any-kind-of-data-rich-environment-that-s/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [Unlike return, however, risk is no more quantifiable at the end of an investment that it was at its beginning. Risk simply cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/unlike-return-however-risk-is-no-more-quantifiable-at-the-end-of-an/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Statistics are like miniskirts: They give you good ideas but hide the important things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebbe-skovdahl/statistics-are-like-miniskirts-they-give-you-good-ideas-but-hide-the/) Ebbe Skovdahl > [But actually theory is very practical. Gravity is a theory, for example. It allows you to predict that if you step off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/but-actually-theory-is-very-practical-gravity-is-a-theory-for-example/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [The information nation took their clues from all the sound bite gluttons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem/the-information-nation-took-their-clues-from-all-the-sound-bite/) [REM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem/) > [“ data analytics consulting Perceptive Analtyics is a data analytic company and a trusted advisor to its clients across domains. Click to know more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastianmax/data-analytics-consulting-perceptive-analtyics-is-a-data-analytic/) SebastianMax > [“The amount of stored information grows four times faster than the world economy, while the processing power of computers grows nine times faster. Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/the-amount-of-stored-information-grows-four-times-faster-than-the/) [Viktor Mayer-Schönberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/) ## More by David Mccandless > [Simplification seems to be the removal of objects for the goal of making a graphic as clean and uncluttered as possible. Whereas, with optimization,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/simplification-seems-to-be-the-removal-of-objects-for-the-goal-of/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I have a computational quality to my mind, I suppose. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with video games. I reprogrammed games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-have-a-computational-quality-to-my-mind-i-suppose-when-i-was-a-kid/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I started moving into online work, and that exposed me to design and the impact it has on the flow, shape, and narrative of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-started-moving-into-online-work-and-that-exposed-me-to-design-and/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [Personally, I find visualisations great for helping me understand the world and for sifting the huge amounts of information that deluge me every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/personally-i-find-visualisations-great-for-helping-me-understand-the/) [David McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [For years I thought I was just a writer, but when I sat down to design and started playing around with it, I realized…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/for-years-i-thought-i-was-just-a-writer-but-when-i-sat-down-to-design/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I love information. I want to stay current. I don't want to be under-informed. But I'm busy. Sometimes, I need an instant overview of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-love-information-i-want-to-stay-current-i-don-t-want-to-be-under/) [David McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [Information design has been around since the 1970s. Pioneers like Yale University design guru Edward Tufte and design agency Pentagram have long known and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/information-design-has-been-around-since-the-1970s-pioneers-like-yale/) [David McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [Visualizing information is a form of knowledge compression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/visualizing-information-is-a-form-of-knowledge-compression/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I'm doing a lot of cognitive processing. I'm gathering research. I'm processing it. I'm arranging the data. I'm sorting out the narrative. I'm designing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-m-doing-a-lot-of-cognitive-processing-i-m-gathering-research-i-m/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [Some of the commercial work I do is helping people to improve their presentations and add some design thinking. There are so many amazing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/some-of-the-commercial-work-i-do-is-helping-people-to-improve-their/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [Over the years, online, we've laid down a huge amount of information and data, and we irrigate it with networks and connectivity, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/over-the-years-online-we-ve-laid-down-a-huge-amount-of-information/) [David McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I've been working on a graphic about carbon emissions. It's an incredibly simple graphic - a bunch of blocks and a table below it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-ve-been-working-on-a-graphic-about-carbon-emissions-it-s-an/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [I remember researching a really complicated article and having trouble keeping track of all the different perspectives. I ended up drawing a diagram to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/i-remember-researching-a-really-complicated-article-and-having/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [The classic one for me is one of my favorite images - left-versus-right political-spectrum image. I was trying to visualize the concepts on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/the-classic-one-for-me-is-one-of-my-favorite-images-left-versus-right/) [David Mccandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) > [By visualizing information, we turn it into a landscape that you can explore with your eyes: a sort of information map. And when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/by-visualizing-information-we-turn-it-into-a-landscape-that-you-can/) [David McCandless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) [Explore all 33 David Mccandless quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/) ## More Data quotes > [Information is money, but data is squat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-llama-butler/information-is-money-but-data-is-squat/) Angela Llama-Butler > [“ data analytics consulting Perceptive Analtyics is a data analytic company and a trusted advisor to its clients across domains. Click to know more”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastianmax/data-analytics-consulting-perceptive-analtyics-is-a-data-analytic/) SebastianMax > [The information nation took their clues from all the sound bite gluttons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rem/the-information-nation-took-their-clues-from-all-the-sound-bite/) [REM](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rem/) > [Sometimes I am a collector of data, and only a collector, and am likely to be gross and miserly, piling up notes, pleased with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-fort/sometimes-i-am-a-collector-of-data-and-only-a-collector-and-am-likely/) [Charles Fort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-fort/) > [But actually theory is very practical. Gravity is a theory, for example. It allows you to predict that if you step off a cliff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clayton-christensen/but-actually-theory-is-very-practical-gravity-is-a-theory-for-example/) [Clayton Christensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clayton-christensen/) > [Statistics are like miniskirts: They give you good ideas but hide the important things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ebbe-skovdahl/statistics-are-like-miniskirts-they-give-you-good-ideas-but-hide-the/) Ebbe Skovdahl > [Unlike return, however, risk is no more quantifiable at the end of an investment that it was at its beginning. Risk simply cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/unlike-return-however-risk-is-no-more-quantifiable-at-the-end-of-an/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Finding patterns is easy in any kind of data-rich environment; that's what mediocre gamblers do. The key is in determining whether the patterns represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/finding-patterns-is-easy-in-any-kind-of-data-rich-environment-that-s/) [Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/) > [ \[Brazil\] went to the UN and said, "We need new standards for this." We need to take a look at what they're calling "data… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/brazil-went-to-the-un-and-said-we-need-new-standards-for-this-we-need/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [We're living in a technological world. You cannot tell me we can't do a better job getting that information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/we-re-living-in-a-technological-world-you-cannot-tell-me-we-can-t-do/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Web users ultimately want to get at data quickly and easily. They don't care as much about attractive sites and pretty design.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-berners-lee/web-users-ultimately-want-to-get-at-data-quickly-and-easily-they-don/) [Tim Berners-Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-berners-lee/) > [You cannot have 300-some million Americans - and really, right, the global citizenry be at risk of having their phone conversations intercepted with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-lieu/you-cannot-have-300-some-million-americans-and-really-right-the/) [Ted Lieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-lieu/) > [An important finding is that by determining the genome sequences of an entire family, one can identify many DNA sequencing errors and thus greatly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/an-important-finding-is-that-by-determining-the-genome-sequences-of/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [While it's wonderful that investors have access to all the data now available to them, it has become a full-time job to sift through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/while-it-s-wonderful-that-investors-have-access-to-all-the-data-now/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [“The amount of stored information grows four times faster than the world economy, while the processing power of computers grows nine times faster. Little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/the-amount-of-stored-information-grows-four-times-faster-than-the/) [Viktor Mayer-Schönberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-mayer-sch-nberger/) [Browse all 3,134 Data quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/data/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes the data has a sense of a structure within it, especially if I'm looking at networks or relationships, which generally lend themselves to a certain style.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Mccandless" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/sometimes-the-data-has-a-sense-of-a-structure-within-it-especially-if/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Data" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/sometimes-the-data-has-a-sense-of-a-structure-within-it-especially-if/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/david-mccandless-19293_data_sometimes-the-data-has-a-sense-of-a-stru_1285732.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/david-mccandless-19293_data_sometimes-the-data-has-a-sense-of-a-stru_1285732.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9be/david-mccandless-19293_data_sometimes-the-data-has-a-sense-of-a-stru_1285732.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes the data has a sense of a structure within it, especially if I'm looking at networks or…” — David Mccandless", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Mccandless", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mccandless/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes the data has a sense...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/sometimes-the-data-has-a-sense-of-a-structure-within-it-especially-if/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mccandless/sometimes-the-data-has-a-sense-of-a-structure-within-it-especially-if/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```