Matt Cowgill
@mattcowgill.bsky.social
economics-talking guy, R enthusiast
Reposted by Matt Cowgill
when making a new graph/chart/whatever you really have to ask yourself these two questions imo
1) is this chart/map better than a table
2) is this chart/map better than a bar chart
1) is this chart/map better than a table
2) is this chart/map better than a bar chart
the unfortunate truth re: data visualisation is that you really do gotta hand it to bar charts
November 4, 2025 at 12:08 AM
when making a new graph/chart/whatever you really have to ask yourself these two questions imo
1) is this chart/map better than a table
2) is this chart/map better than a bar chart
1) is this chart/map better than a table
2) is this chart/map better than a bar chart
Reposted by Matt Cowgill
want to compare two numbers? Bar chart. Add more numbers? Bar chart. Want to add another category of numbers to sit alongside the first? Believe it or not: bar chart.
November 3, 2025 at 8:53 AM
want to compare two numbers? Bar chart. Add more numbers? Bar chart. Want to add another category of numbers to sit alongside the first? Believe it or not: bar chart.
the unfortunate truth re: data visualisation is that you really do gotta hand it to bar charts
November 3, 2025 at 8:47 AM
the unfortunate truth re: data visualisation is that you really do gotta hand it to bar charts
Is the MLB pitch clock the greatest modern rule change of any professional sport?
October 28, 2025 at 4:04 AM
Is the MLB pitch clock the greatest modern rule change of any professional sport?
that’s right, I’m back on Bluesky, you’re welcome
October 28, 2025 at 12:11 AM
that’s right, I’m back on Bluesky, you’re welcome
when did we decide, as a society, that “cohort” is just a synonym for “group” rather than specifically a group that shares some time-invariant characteristic(s)
October 28, 2025 at 12:10 AM
when did we decide, as a society, that “cohort” is just a synonym for “group” rather than specifically a group that shares some time-invariant characteristic(s)
Reposted by Matt Cowgill
Always take sentences using “the Cloud” or “the Internet” and try replacing those phrases with “A shed in Virginia” to see how they hold up. “Our service is fully based in a shed in Virginia”; “All my files are in a shed in Virginia”; “A shed in Virginia was designed to survive a nuclear war”, etc.
October 20, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Always take sentences using “the Cloud” or “the Internet” and try replacing those phrases with “A shed in Virginia” to see how they hold up. “Our service is fully based in a shed in Virginia”; “All my files are in a shed in Virginia”; “A shed in Virginia was designed to survive a nuclear war”, etc.
I have, alas, forgotten my golden rule: Never Post
October 15, 2025 at 2:57 AM
I have, alas, forgotten my golden rule: Never Post
Someone always takes things a step too far
I was enjoying this until I saw someone call you British 😔 I'm sorry Cowgill, you don't deserve this
October 15, 2025 at 2:54 AM
Someone always takes things a step too far
probably my most deeply-held belief: it is not possible for a slide deck to be both (1) a good presentation aide; and (2) a standalone document that can be read and understood in isolation.
October 14, 2025 at 8:08 AM
probably my most deeply-held belief: it is not possible for a slide deck to be both (1) a good presentation aide; and (2) a standalone document that can be read and understood in isolation.
after spending a couple of weeks in Japan, I continue to be amazed that NYC is the world’s only large, dense city with a subway system
October 6, 2025 at 5:06 AM
after spending a couple of weeks in Japan, I continue to be amazed that NYC is the world’s only large, dense city with a subway system
this bit lives in my brain youtube.com/shorts/850Vk...
Australian vs American manners
YouTube video by Almost Friday Podcast
youtube.com
October 5, 2025 at 12:27 AM
this bit lives in my brain youtube.com/shorts/850Vk...
Impossible to read this passage in Seeing Like a State and not picture Canberra from above
October 2, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Impossible to read this passage in Seeing Like a State and not picture Canberra from above
September 28, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Got a day off in Kyoto.
How many times can I sing 🎶 “daaaay off in Kyotooo” 🎶 before my family kills me? Let’s find out
How many times can I sing 🎶 “daaaay off in Kyotooo” 🎶 before my family kills me? Let’s find out
September 28, 2025 at 1:18 AM
Got a day off in Kyoto.
How many times can I sing 🎶 “daaaay off in Kyotooo” 🎶 before my family kills me? Let’s find out
How many times can I sing 🎶 “daaaay off in Kyotooo” 🎶 before my family kills me? Let’s find out
most people come home from Japan thinking “I wish we had their high speed trains” or whatever.
Me? I want Japan’s approach to rating things on Google Maps. 3/5 = fine, 3.5 = pretty good, 4 = exceptional.
Instead we’ve got the American “everything is awesome” style, where <5 stars is an insult
Me? I want Japan’s approach to rating things on Google Maps. 3/5 = fine, 3.5 = pretty good, 4 = exceptional.
Instead we’ve got the American “everything is awesome” style, where <5 stars is an insult
September 27, 2025 at 4:14 AM
most people come home from Japan thinking “I wish we had their high speed trains” or whatever.
Me? I want Japan’s approach to rating things on Google Maps. 3/5 = fine, 3.5 = pretty good, 4 = exceptional.
Instead we’ve got the American “everything is awesome” style, where <5 stars is an insult
Me? I want Japan’s approach to rating things on Google Maps. 3/5 = fine, 3.5 = pretty good, 4 = exceptional.
Instead we’ve got the American “everything is awesome” style, where <5 stars is an insult
@noamross.net {redoc} is coming back!? This is *extremely* exciting to me
September 25, 2025 at 9:43 PM
@noamross.net {redoc} is coming back!? This is *extremely* exciting to me
one thing I’ve learned from Online is that Americans seem weirdly obsessed with special, comfortable Travel Clothes. Just wear normal stuff, it’s fine
August 24, 2025 at 1:36 AM
one thing I’ve learned from Online is that Americans seem weirdly obsessed with special, comfortable Travel Clothes. Just wear normal stuff, it’s fine
I love the FT, but who is asking for Martin Wolf on the sounds of summer
July 26, 2025 at 1:34 PM
I love the FT, but who is asking for Martin Wolf on the sounds of summer
my favourite type of post: shows how to use public data to produce something interesting with just a few lines of R code
You can really do a lot. For instance, while the IMF does not have bilateral BoP data, Eurostat does. With just a few lines of code, you can get to Italy's bilateral IIP, showing both assets and liabilities. Counterpart countries partly aggregated. 2/4
July 23, 2025 at 9:27 AM
my favourite type of post: shows how to use public data to produce something interesting with just a few lines of R code
Abundance has generated more bad and weird takes online than any book since Piketty’s Capital
July 14, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Abundance has generated more bad and weird takes online than any book since Piketty’s Capital
I made some good PPTX slides when I was at Grattan Institute
June 1, 2025 at 2:08 AM
I made some good PPTX slides when I was at Grattan Institute
what happened to the positive visions of the future from my youth (Cher’s clothes computer in Clueless)
May 24, 2025 at 4:09 AM
what happened to the positive visions of the future from my youth (Cher’s clothes computer in Clueless)
Jony Ive is truly an inspiration to bald men everywhere.
We, as a group, need some wins
We, as a group, need some wins
May 21, 2025 at 11:01 PM
Jony Ive is truly an inspiration to bald men everywhere.
We, as a group, need some wins
We, as a group, need some wins
there’s a certain normcore matplotlib chart style that now screams “ChatGPT made this”
May 16, 2025 at 10:54 PM
there’s a certain normcore matplotlib chart style that now screams “ChatGPT made this”