Multiplication Chart For 3

This single, complex graphic manages to plot six different variables on a two-dimensional surface: the size of the army, its geographical location on a map, the direction of its movement, the temperature on its brutal winter retreat, and the passage of time. Another is the use of a dual y-axis, plotting two different data series with two different scales on the same chart, which can be manipulated to make it look like two unrelated trends are moving together or diverging dramatically. Understanding the deep-seated psychological reasons a simple chart works so well opens the door to exploring its incredible versatility. My journey into understanding the template was, therefore, a journey into understanding the grid. This system, this unwritten but universally understood template, was what allowed them to produce hundreds of pages of dense, complex information with such remarkable consistency, year after year. My initial reaction was dread.