Seeing Theory: A Visual Introduction to Probability and Statistics

Seeing Theory was created by Daniel Kunin while an undergraduate at Brown University. The goal of this website is to make statistics more accessible through interactive visualizations (designed using Mike Bostock’s JavaScript library D3.js).

Statistics is quickly becoming the most important and multi-disciplinary field of mathematics. According to the American Statistical Association, statistician is one of the top ten fastest-growing occupations and statistics is one of the fastest-growing bachelor degrees. Statistical literacy is essential to our data driven society.

Despite the increased importance and demand for statistical competence, the pedagogical approaches in statistics have barely changed. Using Mike Bostock's data visualization software, D3.js, Seeing Theory visualizes the fundamental concepts covered in an introductory college statistics or Advanced Placement statistics class. Students are encouraged to use Seeing Theory as an additional resource to their textbook, professor and peers.

The authors believe that it is far more important for a student to develop statistical intuition than to be able to recite equations. They have developed a collection of 15 interactive visualizations, each of which presents a bite-sized concept that is encountered in an introductory statistics curriculum. By using visual explanations, we're able to reach students for whom purely mathematical notation is all but impenetrable. By using interactive visualizations, we encourage students to engage and explore.