A Tsunami of Data and Our Shared “Uh-huh” Complex

The main aim of this introductory article by Richard Saul Wurman, an Information Architect, is to highlight the importance of clearly displaying and organizing data, particularly using one or more of the features in the acronym LATCH: by location, alphabet, time, category, or hierarchy. Wurman also makes it clear in his writing that he dislikes the frilly, illegible design fads, especially when it comes to data visualization. He believes that in the corporate world, the look of a chart is held in higher regard than the statistics themselves.  However, he also expresses his confidence in the fact that there are upcoming designers, ones who also fall into the category of Information Architects, who deeply value the process of understanding data and making this information accessible to audiences.   

We are indeed in the midst of the Information Age; a time when any and all knowledge is at our fingertips with barely the effort it takes to move your finger over a keyboard. However, as this “tsunami of data,” as Wurman inventively calls it, keeps exponentially growing in both speed and volume, it has become impossible for humans to absorb and comprehend it all. This then has set off an endless cycle of people faking understanding. It is a phenomenon I have summed up through Wurman’s writing as our shared “uh-huh” complex. This complex is an almost involuntary reaction to the endless spray of data, factoids, and information we interact with every day. When another person is talking to us about something they seemingly know a lot about, we tend to lie in order to appear knowledgable about the same thing: “They nod their heads and say, ‘Yes, this is important. This is good stuff. The person sitting next to me, sitting in the next office down the aisle, they understand it, so I will smile, making believe I understand it too.” Wurman goes on for an entire paragraph detailing examples of how people respond to this barrage of information by replying “uh-huh” no matter what is actually being said to them or who is talking. I think that we do this with each other because it is an extension of our intrinsic, animalistic instinct to fit in. Fitting into the group during the earliest millennia of the Homo sapiens meant physical survival but now has shifted to meaning acceptance and social survival instead. This section of the article was exceedingly captivating to me because I could put myself in the shoes of any of the characters endlessly saying, “uh-huh” because I do the same exact thing in my own life all the time.  

What I also found incredibly interesting in the article was when Wurman explained how we can only understand something new in the context of things we already know. This relates to design, especially designing through a human-centered lens, because it is key to realize that a person’s past experiences and knowledge are imperative to how they will perceive new information later. To create a more successful product, or in the case of Richard Saul Wurman and other Information Architects, a more accessible data visualization, you need to first understand your data and audience thoroughly and then realize that if the information is not accessible to users in the end, than it was all for naught. If the data is not easily understood, you will simply end up with a room full of individuals saying “uh-huh” to one another as your data is lost to the plague of short-term memorization and superficial understanding that is oh-so common today.

Source: Information Architects: Introduction by Richard Saul Wurman