Borin Van Loon: Illustrator: Introducing Statistics

Introducing... Statistics - a graphic guide

Icon Books (UK), Totem books (USA). ISBN 978-1848310568

For the media, statistics are routinely ‘damning’, ‘horrifying’, or, occasionally, ‘encouraging’.

Yet, for all their ubiquity, most of us really don’t know what to make of statistics. Exploring the history, mathematics, philosophy and practical use of statistics, Eileen Magnello – accompanied by Borin Van Loon's intelligent graphic illustration – traces the rise of statistics from the ancient Babylonians, Egyptians and Chinese, to the censuses of Romans and the Greeks, and the modern emergence of the term itself in Europe.

She explores the ‘vital statistics’ of, in particular, William Farr, and the mathematical statistics of Karl Pearson and R.A. Fisher. She even tells how knowledge of statistics can prolong one’s life, as it did for evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, given eight months to live after a cancer diagnoses in 1982 – and he lived until 2002.

An enjoyable, surprise-filled tour through a subject that is both fascinating, and crucial to understanding our world.

The task of putting the knockabout comedy into the subject of Statistics fell to me at the end of 2008. Like any reasonably discreet area of specialism (the sort often dealt with by 'Introducing' books) the world of statistics is a strange place for the uninitiated visitor. It has its own vocabulary and soon leaves the world in which we can relate its application to the everyday and enters a space which is a challenge for both author and illustrator. Apart from 'Introducing Darwin' where, by definition, we are dealing with a central character, I haven't worked on a book where one person so dominates the field of research and innovation: Karl Pearson. Given the crucible of thought, invention and revolution provided by the Victorian era which gave us Marx, Darwin and Freud, it shouldn't be a surprise that much of Statistics was developed and elaborated in that era. Some unexpected features: the importance of Florence Nightingale's pioneering use of statistics during the Crimean War to count the number of soldiers dying, wounded and recovering from treatment; also the significance of statistics in the brewing of Guiness in Dublin.

The fourth of the sample images above showing R.A. Fisher gives a nod of the head to a hero of the psychedelic era: Martin Sharp. His 1967 poster of Bob Dylan Blowin' in the mind (not to mention his cover for Cream's Disraeli gears album, not to mention his lyrics for Tales of brave Ulysses...) were a huge inspiration to Borin.

Borin worked on this book (more-or-less flat out) in the first half of 2009. Here are some comments on the work-in-progress from the author, Eileen Magnello:-

"I got your fabulous illustrations and they are absolutely fantastic! I am beyond over the moon and somewhat beyond belief that someone with your talent has captured so well what I have conveyed in text. Your images immensely flatter my text, and far better than any other image by any other person could have ever done. As I went through the illustrations this morning, I chuckled with delight (actually, laughed out loud) in sheer joy that, once again, you captured so well what I have been trying to say. Most of what I have written are concepts and ideas I have been thinking about for 30 years and writing about for more than 20 years, which makes the illustrations all the more poignant for me. I also realised that I was right to think in 1981 (after I read the Beginner's Guide to Maths) that you would be the best person to illustrate an Intro Stats book. (I say this with respect to all the illustrations you have sent to me.)"

"I suppose one of the things that makes your illustrations work so well is that you do not have any fixed mind-set of what all the statistical terms mean, whereas I usually get stuck into a literal statistical way of thinking. Being free from this is, I think, what allows you to come up with (or at least contributes to) all the play on words and all the other ideas you have had that I would have never had. All the images work superbly and obviously better than I could have ever possibly envisaged! But then I don' t have your artistic talent as well, which counts for quite a bit more than not having a specific mind-set of certain ideas."

Click here to see the artist give away all his secrets in an illustrated blog about the making of 'Introducing statistics' on Icon's 'Introducing' website.