Gallery: An Infographics Genius Plots Out Another Insanely Detailed Year of His Life
Nicholas Felton01felton-detail-16
Data visualization Nicholas Felton is back with another amazing annual report of his personal data.
Nicholas Felton02felton-detail-17
In previous editions, Felton focused on activities, interests, and geographies, but the 2013 edition is focused heavily on communication.
Nicholas Felton03felton-detail-15
Felton tracked all his electronic messages, but also transcribed interpersonal conversations with friends and strangers.
Nicholas Felton04felton-detail-04
Each dot on this graph represents one of 5,699 correspondents with the location of the dot and vector lines representing the number, frequency, and direction of the communications.
Nicholas Felton05felton-detail-01
Felton tracked the relative use of each communication over time, as well as the participants involved and the length of time each exchange took.
Nicholas Felton06felton-detail-06
This chart serves as an overview breaking down message volume by channel over time, both by calendar year and time of day.
Nicholas Felton07felton-detail-05
Reciprocity was another theme and this visualization helped identify the direction of communication and which correspondents engaged in dialogues.
Nicholas Felton08felton-detail-02
Geography has been a driving force in prior reports and this edition tracks the locations Felton contacted and places where conversations occurred.
Nicholas Felton09felton-detail-04
Felton ended 2013 discussing an additional 462 locations outside of the spots he and his conversation partners physically resided in.
Nicholas Felton10felton-detail-10
Felton used 32,881 different words from the Oxford english dictionary in outgoing messages and analyzed the frequency of use using a software tool called the Natural Language Toolkit. The resulting report gives a sense of which words were used most often and which served as notable outliers.
Nicholas Felton11felton-detail-07
Felton repeated the process, analyzing the 7,673,242 words that were sent to him with similarly interesting findings e.g. Felton received 54,693 exclamation points.
Nicholas Felton12felton-detail-01
Felton's favorite visualization in the report is this topic graph which documents the frequency with which he used a given phrase over time.
Wrongful Arrest Exposes Failures in One of the Oldest Police Face-Recognition Tools in the US
The ACLU is suing two Florida police departments over the arrest of a Fort Myers man in a child-abduction case, saying officers treated a flawed face recognition match as a near-certain ID.
Dell Cameron
China Opens World’s First Wind-Powered Underwater Data Center
With an initial capacity of 24 megawatts, the innovative data center uses seawater as a natural cooling system.
Fernanda González
These Are the Best $400 Digital Notebooks
The newest Kindle Scribe means there are now three digital notebooks you can buy in the $400 price range. Here’s which one you should get.
Nena Farrell
The Best Kindles to Take Your Library Anywhere
I’ve tried every single Kindle. Here’s how Amazon’s ebook readers stack up.
Nena Farrell
Get the Most Out of Your iPad With These Accessories
Kit out your Apple tablet with our favorite stands, cases, keyboards, and styli.
Julian Chokkattu
Finally, Some Affordable Laptops That Won’t Fail You in College
Laptops for college should be portable, offer long battery life, and remain reasonably affordable. Based on testing hundreds of laptops, these are my top picks.
Luke Larsen
This World Cup, You Can Watch the Game From a Ref’s Point of View
Referees for the 2026 World Cup will be wearing cameras positioned at their temples, allowing TV audiences to see a live view of the pitch from a vantage point they never have before.
Ben Dowsett
The Other Major Soccer Event of 2026? The Shake-Up in the World of Video Games
The 48-team World Cup is not the only historic soccer event this year. Four titans are vying for control of video game soccer in the fiercest battle the industry has ever seen.
Javier Rodríguez
How to Watch the 2026 World Cup
The games start June 11 and end with a grand finale in New Jersey on July 19. There are 104 of them. Here’s how to watch ’em all.
Boone Ashworth
Amnesty International Warns That World Cup Fans Face Potential Human Rights Violations
The organization claims that the FIFA tournament could have impacts on the rights of local people and visiting soccer fans in all three host countries.
Fernanda González
Artificial Intelligence Sneaks Into the World Cup Thanks to Google Gemini
The Argentine national team will be Google’s test bench and technological showcase during the World Cup.
Rosa Jiménez Cano
The World Cup’s Trionda Ball Challenges Traditional Aerodynamics
According to new research, Trionda would show less unpredictable movements in actions such as corner kicks or free kicks. However, in powerful and long-distance clearances it would lose range.
Fernanda González