Decisions based on data being ‘unfairly’ represented could produce, for instance, a Martian rover being sent over terrain that is too steep as the topography was inaccurately visualised, or a medical worker making an incomplete or inaccurate diagnosis based on uneven colour gradients.Īlthough some scientific communities have largely moved away from using distorting colour maps, such as rainbow, there are numerous signs of bad habits returning en masse 8. Using an uneven colour gradient is not an action without consequences, including those with significant financial or life-threatening consequences. Furthermore, zones of danger, such as the boundaries of a hurricane track or current virus spread, are often based on uneven colour gradients to accentuate their importance. However, the colour-vision deficient fraction of the population is excluded and therefore unable to process this critical information.
Given the (daily) importance of these scientific topics, the underlying data should be conveyed in a universal manner. For instance, weather forecasts and hazard maps are two examples of immediately societal-relevant data sets that are also repeat offenders for use of the rainbow-like colour maps.
Colour maps, therefore, are a crucial intersection between science and society. However, when colours are used incorrectly, this can lead to the effective manipulation of data (e.g., by highlighting some data over others), the oversight of the needs of those with colour vision deficiencies, and the removal of meaning when printed in black and white (Supplementary Note 1).Īs science has become more prevalent in mainstream culture, it is not only the scientific community that suffers due to the use of poor colour choices, but also the wider public. The visual evaluation of a colour gradient is important to a variety of different fields such as the first direct impression of a black hole 1, the mapping of votes cast in political elections 2, 3, the planning of an expensive rover route on Martian topography 4, the essential communication of climate change 5, 6, or the critical diagnosis of heart disease 7.
One of the most powerful aspects of images is colour, which in turn transforms information into meaning. It is (or should be) in every scientist’s best intention to make figures and their content as accurate and easily understandable as possible. Vision is one of the most fundamental means of communication.
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