Conference session

In a data-saturated world, how do we make sense of the complex data visualizations we encounter every day? How safe is my community? How concerned should I be about climate change? Which medical option is best? Visual representations of data increasingly shape how people interpret issues that affect their lives. Misleading or poorly constructed visualizations contribute to the rapid spread of misinformation, raising urgent questions about how visual data influences public reasoning. At the same time, their accessible visual nature offers powerful opportunities to engage in public dialogue around urgent and complex social issues. We are a new international research collaborative connecting scholars from philosophy, law, computer science, statistics, and mathematics education in Canada and Italy. Join us to offer suggestions for the direction of this work and engage in dialogue about how visual data—and visual arguments—shape public understanding.