Using stocks, it is easy to find graphs that show that different representations of similar data can be used to illustrate conflicting viewpoints. I did this with Microsoft (MSFT). Using the web page http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=msft&d=c&k=c4 I changed the range to choose two different time frames that showed conflicting information.

This first graph is a stock performance graph of MSFT from January 2000 until September 27, 2002. It shows MSFT decreasing from 120 to 46. The top part of the graph shows the price of the stock, while the bottom shows the volume or number of shares bought or sold each day. While there were fluctuations in the stock value, this graph shows that MSFT decreases with time.


On the other hand, the following is a stock performance graph of MSFT from when the data for MSFT was first available (in 1986) until September 27, 2002. This graph shows that MSFT started at about 0 and finished at 50. This graph shows MSFT increasing over time.

We have shown that different representations of similar data can be used to illustrate conflicting viewpoints. Using the first graph, we see that MSFT decreased in value over time, while the second graph shows a different story of MSFT increasing in value over time. When looking at data, both longterm and shortterm viewpoints must be considered for an accurate representation.