More or Less: Behind the Stats Florence Nightingale and how she visualised data
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Feb 18, 2023 AI Snips
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Nightingale's Crimean War Experience
- Florence Nightingale saw the Crimean War hospital disaster in Istanbul, where many soldiers died from diseases.
- She theorized that poor sanitation was the cause, even before germ theory, and aimed to prove it with data.
Sanitary Reform and its Challenges
- Sanitary reformers focused on improving hygiene and airflow, which benefited both the army and civilians.
- However, implementing sanitary reform, like rebuilding London's sewers, was very expensive, causing resistance.
Nightingale's Data as Advocacy
- Florence Nightingale's data presentations were not neutral but part of a life-or-death fight for health reform.
- This fight played out in printed materials like reports, pamphlets, and newspaper reviews, with both sides using data graphics.