For those of you who think about how to make your findings relevant in public policy discussions, check out  Hans Roslings’ TED Talks.  Through his Gapminder application that aminates time series data, Rosling has managed to take abstract numbers and humanize them.  A good example is the Dollar Street interactive graphics he talks about halfway into his discussion.

I’m not certain that Rosling has had any impact in changing policy discussions, but they are amazing classroom tools.  I wish the Obama administration used this type of animated data when it is trying to tell a story about the need for universal health care or addressing climate change.  Imagine a one hour prime time special where the administration used these tools for presenting data (minus the swordswallowing at the end of Rosling’s talk).