Gnuplot in Action

Chapter 15. Coda: Understanding data with graphs

But in the end, the most important thing is to draw the right conclusions from the available evidence.

During World War II, a program was launched to explore the possibility of equipping fighter planes with additional armor as protection against ground-based anti-aircraft fire.^[1] To determine where on the airplane to place the armor, fighter planes returning from combat missions were investigated for bullet holes. In figure 15.1, the areas where bullet holes were found are shown shaded; areas without bullet holes are left white.

¹ The inspiration to this story stems from the book Graphic Discovery by Howard Wainer, Princeton University Press (2005).

Figure 15.1. Schematic outline of a fighter ...