Happy Pi Day, 2021!

March 14th, or 3.14 in the month.day format, is Pi Day because the first digits of the number π (pi) are 3.14(15926…). Of course pi is intimately connected to the circle, as it’s the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. And of course we all know that there is one infamous chart type, the pie chart, that is in the shape of a circle.

So, to celebrate the occasion, We’re making one of the 32 instructional videos from our recently launched online course based on the book ‘Learning to See Data‘ available for free!

In this 15 minute video, course creator & book author Ben Jones talks about the “much maligned and highly controversial” chart type – the pie chart – and it’s cousin the donut chart. He shares where this chart came from, how it’s constructed, when it’s useful, and how it can sometimes be more confusing and misleading than informative. This video is helpful for anyone wanting to understand the ins and outs of one of the most common charts we encounter, or anyone who wants their team to learn the do’s and don’ts of the pie chart.

For other helpful explainers on over two dozen other chart types, check out the entire course: https://dataliteracy.com/data-literacy-level-1/