64 Kellogg Insight Take the pair of graphs below, which display shares of aggregate income by type among individuals aged 65 and over in the U.S. The graphs show the same data. But because the data are organized dif - ferently, people who encounter the graphs will likely approach them dif - ferently and thus may draw different conclusions. For the graph on the left, people tend to compare income types within each year—noting, for instance, that Social Security income was higher than earnings or government pensions in 1962. For the graph on the right, however, people tend to compare values across years for each income type—noting that most income types have increased over time. “The visual system can’t compare every value to every other value. That’s too complex even for such a powerful system,” Franconeri explains. “So it tends to prioritize comparisons of values that are close to one another, and you can use that rule to control the comparisons that you make when you are analyzing data or that your audience makes when you present.” Based on insights from Steve Franconeri Credit: Steve Franconeri. Data from the Social Security Administration . Income Type Ye a r Social Security 1962 2007 Earnings 1962 2007 Asset Income 1962 2007 Private Pensions 1962 2007 Gov’t Empl Pensions 1962 2007 Other 1962 2007 0% 10% 20% 30% Ye a r Income Type 1962 Social Security Earnings Asset Income Private Pensions Gov’t Empl Pensions Other 2007 Social Security Earnings Asset Income Private Pensions Gov’t Empl Pensions Other 0% 10% 20% 30%