Visual data analysis blends highly advanced computational methods with sophisticated graphics engines to tap the extraordinary ability of humans to see patterns and structure in even the most complex visual presentations.
Data collection and compilation is no longer the tedious, manual process it once was, and tools to analyze, interpret, and display data are increasingly sophisticated, and their use routine in many disciplines.
In advanced research settings, scientists and others studying massively complex systems generate mountains of data, and have developed a wide variety of new tools and techniques to allow those data to be interpreted holistically, and to expose meaningful patterns and structure, trends and exceptions, and more.